


the world is not so black and white

by ggenevive



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Amanda is also a badass, Amanda is the best mom, Angst, Author is a Clay | Dream Apologist (Video Blogging RPF), Awesamdude is a dad, Canon Divergence, Changing POV's, Clay | Dream Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream Redemption (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Dream is trying to live his cottagecore life, Emotional Hurt, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Hybrids in this story, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Kinda, Morally Grey Character, Multi, Other, Panic Attacks, Philza is a dad, Philza is also a BAMF, Post-Manberg-Pogtopia War on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, Ranboo is a kid in this!!!! like literally 7 years old, Ranboo is still and enderman hybrid though dw, Some OOC, Suicidal Thoughts, The Prison, We'll get there, adoptive families, at some point, author is trying to fit every smp character into the story, don't mess with Amanda, dream in a coma lol, he doesn't exist to other people yet. Sorry about that :), he's done some fcked up shit tho, maybe a happy ending?? i dunno, mentions of self harm, minecraft but it's real life, no beta we die like technoblade..... wait, sbi as a family, tommyinnit is a confused teenager
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:35:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 24,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29327889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ggenevive/pseuds/ggenevive
Summary: Dream is sick of his cell, 5 paces wide and 8 paces long. He wants out.
Relationships: Cara | CaptainPuffy & Clay | Dream, Cara | CaptainPuffy & Niki | Nihachu, Clay | Dream & Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Sam | Awesamdude, Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Eret & Niki | Nihachu, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Comments: 503
Kudos: 1465





	1. i

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I'm viv, I've never written fanfic before but I got randomly inspired to write this! Any suggestions or constructive criticism is welcome, I'd love to hear from readers. I have absolutely no idea where this is going, when I'll update, or how long chapters are so bear with me :) If there are tw, they will be posted at the beginning of every chapter.
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!
> 
> !!!TW!!! self-harm mentions, suicidal thoughts, potentially triggering discussions about food and EDs

Dream wants out. These cell walls are too confining, too cold, and too desolate. The never-ending, impossibly bright light that shone from lava made him lose his mind. There were no days or nights anymore, but he didn't sleep anyways. His food sat in the corner, lonely, and moldy. He could barely bring himself to eat. Sometimes Dream would bounce the stale potatoes off the walls or set them on fire with the lava just to watch something burn, to feel warmth again. All his journals were filled with scribbles in a language long forgotten. He shattered his clock long ago. Once, Dream had used the glass shards to make himself bleed just so he could paint again. 

Sam had taken his glass soon after that.

He felt frail. Dream could count his ribs, his kneecaps and ankles stood out prominently, and his eyebags looked like fresh bruises. His cheeks were sunken in, and his dirty blond hair was now brown and matted. He looked like a skeleton, and he felt halfway to the grave. Nobody visits Dream anymore. Why would they? He can't give them what they want, and they blame him for their own choices. Who would bother with the consequences of their own actions when someone else can be blamed for them? He knows what he did was wrong, and he supposes that his cell has served its purpose in that way. Mostly, Dream regrets what he did, but a small part of him is ok with it. His family was whole again, with or without him. 

Dream contemplated suicide often during the earlier days, and he jumped in the lava a thousand times over trying to die. Unfortunately, being an admin comes with responsibilities. His life force and the server's life were tied together eternally. He never ascertained his peace in death and found himself waking with a splash every time he respawned. 

Sam tried to stop Dream at first. He put the barrier up so Dream couldn't take dives in the lava endlessly. This only caused Dream to pace in his cell until he could do it in his sleep. Five paces wide, and eight paces long, not counting the two steps on the other side of the barrier. Eventually, Sam let the barrier down and Dream didn't jump in anymore. 

How could he convince his old friends to let him out? Dream is a changed man. He's tired of violence. He had been tired of violence for months, but every character has a role to play. How could everyone else be heroes if they had no villain? He only had his thoughts to confide in, and Dream sure did a lot of thinking. He spent hours writing to his family and his friends. He spent days talking to himself and picking apart the past. Where had it all gone so very wrong? When did he lose sight of the difference between good and bad? Perhaps good and evil aren't so black and white, but more different shades of grey. His friends had wronged him just as he wronged them, and everyone can only rationalize their own actions he supposes. Dream was tired. The kind of tired that didn't fade, the kind of tired that you feel in your bones for the rest of your life, the tired that stole your motivation until you couldn't move.

He wonders if he'll be able to walk out of this prison alive, or if they will find his corpse sprawled out on the floor. Dream doesn't know which one he would prefer anymore. Finally, his body allows him to close his eyes, as he sinks to the floor the last thing he can hear is the quiet bubbling of running lava. His breathing slows, but the tension in his muscles won't leave, even in sleep.

___________________________________________________________________

Sam rises early that morning. Something is causing his stomach to turn and twist out of anxiety. Something was wrong and he couldn't quite figure out what. As Sam gets dressed for the day he calls up Tommy on his communicator and tells him he'll be heading out to the prison to make sure everything was running smoothly and invites Tommy to come along with him. Tommy agrees to come. Things around the SMP have slowed down as everyone learns to live in a peaceful time. Evidence and effects of the war are present in everything anyone does. Strong sets of armor carried in inventories 24/7, the deadly weapons each player carries on their backs all day, potions clinking in bags as people shop and stroll. People purposely choosing seats where they could survey everything, the lights in bedrooms that didn't turn off all night, and the training arenas were never empty. Some people would disappear for days at a time to work on their secret bases. Nothing was how it was before, and a strange sadness lingered in the air like an invisible fog. Laughter would fade quickly as fallen friends were remembered. Parties and festivals ended early because the jokes stopped being funny far too soon. Often, you could find people sitting on cliffs or staring at old ruins silently, the memories of the war far too loud. Shivers ran down people's spines as they passed spots where the blood hadn't quite faded yet. Tommy didn't go to nether or anywhere near nether portals anymore if he could avoid it. Sapnap can't bear to be around fish. Tubbo refuses to make speeches or presentations of any kind. Niki plants trees everywhere she can. Eret won't sit on his throne. 

Shaken out of his thoughts by heavy footsteps, Sam sees Tommy walking down the path and towards the entrance of the prison. He hated going through the entrance portal, so Sam took him in the back way. The kid didn't need a panic attack today. As they waited for the lava to drop Tommy asks him why he was here 'so goddam early'.

"Because something isn't right today Tommy and I'm worried that Dream is making trouble. I thought you should be here." Sam's voice trailed off as he said the last few words.

"Alright then big man," Tommy smiled at Sam, "Let's see what the green bastard is up to," A teasing glint appeared in Tommy's eyes, "since your spider-sense has been tingling today." Sam laughed as he gently shoved the teen. The two had gotten much closer while building Tommy's hotel and Sam felt very responsible for the boy. As the lava parted, a silence fell on the two men, their breaths held and their shoulders tense. 

Confusion quickly befell the two. Dream was sleeping? 

"Sam. Sam! Sam I don't think he's breathing." Tommy turned to face Sam, the man stood frozen, eyebrows furrowed.

"I-I... I don't think that's possible Tommy. If he's dead, we're all in deep shit." Only leaving Tommy with more questions, Sam turned to the button to send the bridge across as he and Tommy got situated on it. Suddenly the trip across the lava was taking far too long. Tommy quickly sent out a message to the whole server, 'smthing wrng with dRm. meet at prison dor.' When the two finally arrived at the other side, Sam rushed over to Dream, while Tommy took his time carefully approaching the monster. Dream didn't even look like himself and it still shook Tommy to see Dream without a mask. The man looked so human and vulnerable without it. Dream looked so lifeless and helpless that it made Tommy stop dead in his tracks. This was not the monster he knew and feared (not that he would ever admit that) 

"He's alive, I think" Sam's hushed voice startled Tommy from his trance.

"Well," His tone hostile, "what's wrong with him?"

"I think he's dying," Sam paused, struggling to find the right words, "which shouldn't be possible, but if he does, he takes the whole server down with him."


	2. ii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Tommy search for help, Dream is disoriented

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who left kudos! I am so encouraged to write more.  
> Once again I have absolutely no updating schedule but I'll try to get more out often. Also trying for longer chapters so yay. :)
> 
> !!!TW!!! Panic attack, mild descriptions of wounds.

Dream couldn't open his eyes. He felt like liquid stone and he desperately wanted to return to sleep. He was moving, but unsure how. Dream was definitely moving. He wasn’t sure where his body started and where it stopped. Someone was talking near him, but it sounded like subdued street noise.  
________________________________________________________________

Sam picked up Dream as best he could, the man was tall, but he weighed as much as a kid. Dream made no sign that he could hear Sam or that he was aware of what was happening. As he turned around he almost bumped into Tommy who unhelpfully hovering. Tommy held up a hand to stop him.

“Sam, Sam! Let’s think about this. He could be faking it and we have first aid kits in the prison.” Tommy’s distrust for Dream wasn’t going to disappear because Dream had suddenly fallen ill. The green man doesn’t deserve Tommy’s trust or sympathy, and Sam understands this. Sam knows what happened to Tommy in exile. The kid spent many long nights wide awake with Sam reliving his worst nightmares. Sam was the one Tommy turned to when he had his first panic attack.

“Tommy, I know you have your suspicions, I have mine too. But… it’s too much of a risk to not bring him out. We need as many healing hands to help as we can get.” 

“Why? What aren’t you telling me?” 

“His life force Tommy, Dream is an admin. He’s responsible for the server’s survival,” Sam’s voice quieted, and his eyes lowered. “I don’t know if he ever shared his responsibilities, but we need him to live if we want our home to live. I don’t fancy moving to Hypixel or 2b2t. And moving is extremely dangerous anyways, we’re supposed to live where we were born.” Tommy’s mouth hung open with silent questions. Dream was an admin? 

“Who else knows?”

“I’m not sure Tommy, he made me swear to keep it a secret.” The pair made their way out of the prison quickly, their footsteps echoing hurriedly down hallways. Sam could only hope someone was outside who would help Dream, he knew that no one was obligated to show up and many people had decided Dream was dead to them long ago so help was a long shot. Sam could only hope that they hadn't lost all their humanity. He didn’t know how many people he could convince to help them without sharing Dream’s secrets. Despite the destruction caused by the once masked man (he should really grab a mask for Dream), Dream was once his biggest supporter and closest friends. Memories didn’t just vanish.

As the two made their way outside, they were greeted with silence. Not a single person had come to aid them. Sam didn’t know which was worse, the potential death the server was facing or the fact that everyone was willing to condemn a man to death over the past. Dream was serving his time for his actions, and he never once complained to Sam. When he got visitors during the beginning of his stay, he never was violent, and he never made threats, in fact, the man hardly spoke. But it was something.

“Fuck.”

“Did you expect anything else?”

“I hoped some of us still had our humanity,” Sam sighed, for what felt like the hundredth time today, “We’ll have to take him to my base and do our best I suppose. Go get some horses, please.”

“Well, we could also ask Phil?” After Techno started coming home with broken bones, bruises, and scratches more frequently Phil had taken a couple of lessons from their local healer at the nearest village. Tommy barely spoke to his adoptive father anymore as he had retreated to the Artic with Techno post-war. Tommy still held grudges even if Tubbo had long forgiven Techno. “I’ll call him.”

While Tommy called, Sam set Dream onto some soft grass and propped him up into a sitting position. He rummaged around his bag for a golden apple and any potions he might have.

“Phil?” He picked up on the first ring.

“Is everything ok Tommy?” Tommy fought back tears, he may be mad at his family, but he still missed them.

“Yea, actually no. Can Sam and I come to your house? We need some medical help.”

“Of course, this is still your home,” Tommy could almost hear Phil’s smile through the communicator, “Who needs help? I need to prepare supplies.”

Tommy paused at this, could he tell Phil the truth? Yes, Phil was a fair man. “It’s Dream, we went to check on him and he looks like he’s on the brink of death.”  
“Oh?” A deep inhale could be heard on the other side of the line, “Ok, I’ll see you soon?”

“Yea, a couple of hours at most,” Static filled the call, “Thank you.” The line clicked and went dead. 

“Sam!” Tommy turned the man who was bandaging Dream as bed he could, “Phil says we can go to his. Let’s go so we don’t get caught out at night.” Sam never looked up from Dream as he nodded and began to pack his things.

“Get the horses from the tie, let’s go.”  
________________________________________________________________

Dream faded in and out of semi-consciousness. Where was he going? Was he on a horse? Why was it so cold?  
A while later he was warm again, a comfortable warm unlike the lava surrounding his cell. Someone was touching him. He felt the panic rise in his chest. Why couldn’t he move? Was someone hurting him? Dream needs to open his eyes, he needs to get his bearings. Except, he can’t. He can’t move, he can’t scream, he can’t look around. He felt his breathing spike and his heart race. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get u-up. G-ge-get up. He felt himself sliding back into unconsciousness. No no no...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again thank you to everyone who bookmarked and left kudos <3  
> Sorry for the short chapter again, but this seemed like a good place to end it.


	3. iii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream wakes up. An emergency SMP meeting is called.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I definitely want longer chapters, but I love leaving cliffhangers! Sorry :0
> 
> !!!TW!!! Discussions of violence and mention self-harm.

The adrenaline pumping through Dream’s body wouldn’t let him pass out. He was stressed and he wanted to be awake. How could he find peace when he was surrounded by enemies? At some point, Dream could feel the exhaustion pulling him back to sleep. His world faded from one nightmare to another.

_____________________________________________________________

Phil looked down at the skeleton of a man beneath him. He could feel Dream shaking and shivering, his muscles were tense as if he were trying to move. Perhaps some time ago, Philza had felt dislike for the man simply because his sons had come within harm’s way. Now, he could feel nothing but pity for Dream, he was malnourished, atrophied, and covered in scars. No person deserved to live this way, even in prison. 

As he finished disinfecting newer cuts and placing ointment on older, improperly healed scars (really his body was covered in them), he needed to wake Dream up. Who knows how long he had been in his comatose state and he appeared very dehydrated as well. 

“Have you tried to wake him yet?”

Sam nodded, “Yea when we first found him, I didn’t get any response.” 

“I can try an ice bath, or warming him up. Either way, we need him awake as soon as possible. I don’t have the correct medical supplies to hydrate him while he’s asleep.” The slamming of a door from the entranceway told the older men that Tommy was back from his walk. Tommy came in throwing coats, hats, and gloves all over the living room in typical teenage fashion. As he slumped over the well-loved couch in Phil’s modest living room, the heaviest sigh in all of history came out of him. 

“We can’t let him die can we?” The boy questioned. The adults glanced at each other before looking back at Tommy.

Phil spoke first, “It could be considered a mercy killing,” He stared at the man in a coma, “or you could let him pass away naturally. I doubt he’ll be missed.”

“Depends on your morals Tommy,” Sam whispered, “He doesn’t deserve more chances, but he isn’t completely hopeless. We never got the full story either. Dream had been a close friend of mine for many years, but I feel like I barely know him now.” Sam leaned back in his chair, “Technically since I run the prison, I’m responsible for his health and should be trying to keep him alive. I’m not sure if it’s more trouble than it’s worth though.”

Head in his hands Tommy muttered, “He hurt me so much, but I loved Dream and, I want to give him another chance. Hell, I still fucking love him, he was like an older brother to Tubbo and me. I’m not ready to forgive him, he’s gonna have to work for it, but the SMP isn’t the same anymore.”

“Why don’t we head to bed? You’ve had a stressful day and Dream will still be here in the morning.” Phil gestured to the stairs, “Your bedroom is where it’s always been Tommy, Sam the guest room is the last door on the left.” The tired pair trudged up the stairs to clean up and sleep while Phil arranged Dream on the couch near the fire. He tucked him and left water on the coffee table in case he woke in the night. Phil gave Dream a small smile as he remembered the days when Techno would come home raving about the little boy with the smiley mask that he sparred with by the village. Dream and Techno had been childhood friends, but they grew apart in adolescence. He supposed the boys were good for each other. Maybe, just maybe he’ll message Techno and ask him if he wants to come by later this week, that will be tomorrow’s decision. 

________________________________________________________________

Dream wakes feeling warm, it reminds him of when he was a little kid and for a moment he thinks he’s dreaming. He blinks in an attempt to focus his eyes. Water. He needed water. His throat was so scratchy. When was the last time he spoke? As Dream sat up he almost doubled over in pain. When was the last time he had eaten? He found the water glass on the coffee table, and as he went to pick it up he could see his arm shake from the strain. Where was he? Think think think… Prison cell… Voices… Horses… Cold… Pain. Someone had taken him out of the prison. He turned his gaze down to his body. They had cleaned him up too. 

Soundlessly, Dream padded around the house, peeking into rooms and trying to figure out where he was. Honestly, he didn’t care that much, he decided he would leave and go as far as he can. Nobody wanted Dream around, no one wanted to spare a second thought to the monster that haunted their days and nights. Dream wasn’t sure he wanted to think about himself either.

In one of the ground floor bedrooms, he found clothes around his size and some spare bags and canteens that would be helpful on his trip. He changed into snow wear and packed a couple spare sets of clothes before heading to the kitchen and storeroom. Dream filled his canteens with water, grabbed a first aid kit, a few golden apples, lots of steak, and a small bag of assorted seeds. Quickly lacing his new fur-lined boots, he paused at the front door. A weapon. He didn’t really want one, it would only make others think he was seeking revenge, but he needed a pickaxe and something to fight off mobs with. Heading into what appeared to be an office, Dream grabbed an iron pickaxe and a stone sword. That seemed fair. Wordlessly thanking whoever lived here, Dream slipped out a window and into the snowy night. 

________________________________________________________________

Sam was the first one up the next day. Philza and Tommy were up soon after. The discovery of a missing Dream was not one any of them wanted to deal with, but they called an SMP emergency meeting anyways.

AweSamDude - Urgent emergency meeting at community house. 12 pm.

Quackity - Yo, you ain’t the boss of me 

AweSamDude - No jokes, everyone needs to be present. 

Fundy - I’m at the jungle rn do I really need to be there???

Philza - Yes.

Sapnap - wtf, why are y’all using chat so early??

Philza - Noon. Community House.

Georgenotfound - Bruh.

The trio made their way through the nether (against Tommy’s wishes) without much talking. Each of them was stressed about Dream’s potential plans and the other’s reactions to the missing criminal. 

Around noon everyone (minus Technoblade), surprisingly, had shown up. The somber mood still hung around and most people isolated themselves from the others. Sam decided he had to be the one to break the news because he was the one who let Dream out. He sat down at the head of the table and everyone rapidly filled their own seats. A few wayward glances were thrown in the direction of Dream’s chair at the other end of the table. The seats surrounding it were empty as well, nobody could bear to sit by the empty chair, and yet they couldn’t quite seem to get rid of it. 

“So, I went to check on Dream yesterday. It had been a few weeks and I had,” He paused, “A strange feeling. Tommy came with me and when we arrived Dream appeared to be in a coma.” Lots of heads turned towards Sam, suddenly this report was so much more interesting. “At first we thought that it might be a trick, but upon closer inspection, Dream didn’t even look like himself.”

“What do you mean?” Niki’s voice piped up from the middle of the table.

Tommy answered for Sam, “He was so thin, he looked like a fuckin’ skeleton. He was covered in cuts and bruises from God knows what, and his face was all sunken in and shit.” 

“That’s when the text message went out to everyone yesterday. The medical supplies the prison has weren’t enough to heal him and I was going to move him to the hospital where he could be monitored 24/7 until he was ready to go back to his cell. Except not a single one of you answered.” Heads turned down and eyes refused to meet Sam’s eyes. “As a last resort, we decided to travel to Phil’s house.”

“You took him out?!” Quackity looked enraged. “What the hell man?! And you? Tommy! What? Why..?”

“Wait,” Sapnap’s quiet voice startled Sam, “if he was with you three, where is he now?”

Sam grimaced, “Gone.” Stillness overtook the table. 

“So, where the hell did he go?”

“We don’t know Purpled, he left in the middle of the night, and the snow-covered his tracks.” Phil stood up, “We aren’t here to blame anyone, we just thought it was fair that everyone knew. It also goes to say that if you run into Dream, do not engage with him. Dream needs to go back to prison, and so far he’s done nothing nefarious so it may be better to let sleeping dogs lie.”

“Fuck that! I’m not letting that tyrant run free, he’s caused so many problems already! I don’t need him running loose. If I find him, he’s dead.” A few head nods could be seen around the table, agreeing with Quackity.

Phil turned to Quackity, disappointment swimming in his eyes, “You are not without fault Quackity, just because it’s easy to blame Dream for all your sins doesn’t make it right. If you attack him unprovoked, with intent to kill, you will go on trial.” His stern eyes swept over everyone, “Dream deserves prison, and he will serve his time. You will alert Sam and I if he is spotted. Do I make myself clear?” 

A chorus of yes and yes sirs echoed around the room. 

“Then this meeting is dismissed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any suggestions? Comment them ;)


	4. iv

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno shows up. Dream finds a new home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh I loved writing this chapter. Some original characters are introduced and I hope y'all like them. 
> 
> !!!TW!!! Panic attacks, discussions of gore

Dream felt like he had walked to the edge of the server and back. He had been walking for four? Five days? He wasn’t quite sure. Dream only knew three things, he was out of water, he had started bleeding through his clothes a couple of days ago, and he was almost out of food. Mobs didn’t even attack the man, he looked like death and smelled like it too. How much further would he have to go. Dream didn’t want to be found ever again. He wasn’t quite sure if it was worth living or if he just wanted to die alone.

He needed a river. He wanted to feel clean again.

________________________________________________________________  
It has been about a week since Dream disappeared in the dead of night. For the first few nights, not a single person slept. There were no more parties. People snapped at each other over the smallest things. Quackity and Ponk had the bruises to show for it. It had been a week when Techno popped out of the nether portal.

“Hullo,” Techno looked at the community house that appeared to have been inhabited by the entire server (save one). “What’s uh, goin’ on?”

“Didn’t you get the message?” Techno peered at Eret.

“Uh, clearly not.” 

A whisper came from behind him, “Dream’s gone.” 

“Huh? Whaddya mean gone? Like dead?” 

“No, we’d be celebrating if that was the case.” A few heads turned to look at Quackity in surprise. 

“Dude,” Sapnap spoke harshly, “Pipe down.”

“C’mon Tech, Tommy and I will fill you in on the way home,” Phil surveyed the tense group, “No use in waiting around. I’m gettin’ on with my life.” Sounds of agreement could be heard and many people began slowly packing their things. Tommy hugged Tubbo goodbye, distrustfully eyeing Quackity over his friend's shoulder.

“See you soon Tubs.”

“Bye Tommy,” and quieter, “I miss having you around, come visit Snowchester soon.” 

Tommy faced Tubbo as he stepped in the portal, “I will big man, don’t you worry.” Tubbo watched Tommy fade into purple and unease settled in the pit of his stomach. He was worried about his friend. Tommy hardly came around anymore, he always seemed in his own world, and he appeared to be more worried about if Dream was ok rather than the fact that he was gone. Tubbo was missing some important information and he’s going to figure out exactly what secrets Tommy was keeping from him.

________________________________________________________________

Dream stumbled. His head felt light and he couldn’t feel anything below his waist. Unsure if that was a good or a bad thing, he had kept on walking. The sun was rising as Dream lay on the forest floor. He could see the gentle sunlight emerging over the mountain horizon a few hundred blocks away. The only sound he could hear was his own panting. Maybe he could lay here for a moment. The sun felt good, it’s warm caress made him want to sleep for as long as he could. A nap couldn’t hurt him right? He was safe. Right? He didn’t think anyone was following him. He could rest here. 

As he closed his eyes, his breathing slowed, his muscles relaxed and the tension flowed up out him; Dream felt more at peace than he had in so many years.

________________________________________________________________

“So,” Techno looked at his weary traveling companions as they slumped on Phil’s couch, “How did he escape?”

“Sam and Tommy found him in a coma and they couldn’t get help from anyone else so they brought him here. He didn’t seem strong enough to run away so we left him on the couch, and he slipped away sometime in the night.”

As Techno turned his gaze to his little brother, Tommy looked years older than he actually was, perhaps the wars were finally taking a toll on him. His voice came out low and scratchy, “Dream didn’t even take any weapons, he didn’t take anything someone who’s seeking revenge would take. He barely took anything you need to survive,” Tommy’s voice was rising, “He didn’t even come upstairs! I doubt he even knew whose house this was…”

“What’s goin’ on with you Tommy?”

“I just, I-I,” He faltered, “Dream and I weren’t always enemies.” In favor of letting Tommy figure things out at his pace, Techno followed Phil into the kitchen.

“You think he’ll be ok?” 

Phil didn’t even look up from the food he was preparing, “Yea, it’ll take some time though. How are you?”

Techno sighed, “I’m ok, Dream and weren’t close. I’d never admit it to him but I miss him around the farm. Dream was someone who could understand me,” He guiltily glimpsed at Phil, “Not that you couldn’t, it’s just,” He struggled for words, “different.” 

“I get it. Dream wasn’t all bad. Definitely rough around the edges. I don’t think anyone truly knew the man.” Phil began throwing ingredients into a pot for stew, “Even you. As a kid, Dream was as mysterious as ever.”

“What’s for dinner old man?” 

Phil rolled his eyes, “Rabbit and potato stew. Sound good?”

“Sounds delicious.”

In the living room, Tommy struggled with his own conflicting emotions. At one time he may have wanted the green man dead. Now that it was a possibility, not so much. It was easy to overlook the past when Dream was basically Tubbo’s surrogate brother. It was easy to ignore all he didn’t know about Dream. And yet, a little part of him wanted to hear Dream’s side of the story. He wanted to see if he was justified in his feelings or not. 

Tommy knew that Dream had done some villainous things, but looking back to the beginning, Dream didn’t start the conflict. Dream had manipulated him. Dream was the one person who would listen to Tommy and his ridiculous ideas. Dream blew up his city. Dream helped Tommy build and run his ill-thought-out businesses. Dream hurt his friends and family. Dream made Tommy smile when nobody else could.

Tommy felt like his head was splitting in half. 

________________________________________________________________

Dream woke around midday. The sun directly above him, filtering gently through the leaves. He felt rested. Even if his body screamed at him in pain, Dream had gotten the best sleep he had in years. Slowly, painfully sitting up, he finally took in his surroundings. He was in a spruce forest, there were some mountains not far to his left, what looked like a river with wide banks separating him and the mountains. To his right, more forest, what looked like a plains biome covered in flowers and a small lake. He could stay here. He had to be far enough out from everyone else. 

Dream left his bags sitting by the edge of the trees as he slowly made his way to the river. Gods, he hoped the water wasn’t too cold. He sat on some sand, warmed from the morning sun and took off his once green clothes and unlaced his shoes. Peeling off as many bandages as he could before climbing in the water, Dream slowly scooted his way into the river. 

Someone must be watching over him, he thought, the water was warm and not too deep. It ran just slow enough to be relaxing. A long sigh escaped Dream. He let his bandages slide off him and collected them to clean them as best he could. He carefully rubbed the grime and dirt off his body and tilted his face back into the water. His hair went from brown to the blonde it once was. Dream only got out of the river when his hands started pruning up.

Climbing out of the river, Dream searched through his bag for some antibiotic ointment and re-wrapped his cuts. Luckily, he only got a few new scratches from his trip and only one of them was deep enough to be worrying. 

He needed a home and to last the night, cutting a few trees down and crafting some planks he built a small one-room hut. Laying down his winter clothes on the grass, He settled in for a long night.

Except, Dream couldn’t sleep. His one-room hut reminded him of his cell. It was too quiet and he was alone again. He couldn't see outside and his only source of light was a dim torch. As he tossed and turned on his fur cloak, he came to terms with the fact he wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight.   
Sometime, hours later, Dream finally fell asleep. Sleep was no reprieve for him, plagued by nightmares of being hunted by his friends, watching his own blood flow from self-inflicted cuts, his bloody fists banging on the walls as he begs to be let out, shivering in the corner of his cell as he was tortured by his own mind, the sounds of TNT blowing up ringing in his ears, images of him cutting down his own friends. He woke mid panic attack. 

The sun hadn’t risen yet, but first light rays could be seen. Grabbing his sword, pickaxe, an empty bag, his bag of seeds, and an apple for the day. As he stepped outside he almost tripped over something on the ground. A pile of sticks lay on his doorstep. Whipping his head up, Dream frantically glanced around for the perpetrator. Who was playing games with him?

As his stress levels rose he finally saw something to his right, hiding amongst the trees. A kid?

He lowered his stone sword, “Hey, woah I’m not gonna hurt you. You just surprised me.” The kid came out from behind the tree to stand next to it. The kid looked like he was 6 or 7 and he was dressed in decent clothes. “Where’s your home?” The kid pointed in the direction of the plains. “Do you need help getting back home?”

“Hungry.”

“Oh ok, yea, um.” Dream paused for a moment before giving the kid his apple. “Here.”

“Thanks.” A pause, “Couldn’t go home last night. Monsters.”

“Where did you sleep?”

The kid chews, “Tree.”

“Why the sticks?”

“Mom gives sticks to my brother so he feels safe when he’s scared at night.” 

“Oh.”

“Heard you screaming in your sleep. Lots.”

“Oh.” Dream almost wanted to cry. “Do you need anything else? I can walk you home.” The kid nodded and started walking towards the field. An hour or so later Dream saw a village bordering the forest. The kid had grabbed his hand early on their walk. Dream didn’t know how to let go, no matter how uncomfortable he was with other people touching him. “Is this your home?” A nod yes. “Do you want me to wait here?” A nod no. “Ok.”

The kid took the lead and started walking towards a little, two-story, house on the outskirts of the village. As they got closer a village woman ran out of the house towards them. Dream tensed at the sight but kept walking. The kid finally let go of his hand and ran towards what he could only presume was the kid’s mom. 

“Where have you been?! We were worried sick!” The mom embraced her son in a tight hug. She looked up at Dream who had stopped a couple paces back. 

Dream rubbed his neck and cleared his throat, “I found him outside my house this morning, about an hour that way.” He gestured behind him vaguely. 

“Oh thank you so much for bringing him back. He wanders off a lot, but never that far.” She beamed up at Dream.

“Yea, of course.” He turned to walk back home.

“Wait, wait! Are you new around here? We usually don’t get travelers outside the village.”

“Something like that.”

“Well, you should stay for breakfast and we can give you some insights about the area if you don’t mind.” The idea of being surrounded by people who he didn’t know or trust stressed Dream out. It could be a trap. They could be faking their kindness. His stomach grumbled, he could use some food though. 

Turning around, “I’d like that if you don’t mind. I, uh, can’t stay long though.” 

The woman’s smile grew even wider, “Wonderful.”


	5. v

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tubbo visits Tommy, Dream has breakfast with strangers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter k3yb0aRdSMaCK had a very cool suggestion in the comments and I decided to change the story a little bit. Ranboo is a child in this story and he isn't apart of the Greater SMP, he lives in a village far away on the server. Dream doesn't know Ranboo's name yet, but he is the kid in the village. Hopefully, this clears up any confusion!
> 
> !!!TW!!! emotional distress, (kinda) dehumanizing thoughts

Tubbo couldn’t sleep. Tommy was keeping something from him and it was clearly troubling his friend. The only problem was that Tommy kept insisting that he was fine but Tubbo didn’t believe him for a second. Should he follow Tommy? Maybe Phil knew what was up. 

Tubbo arrived at Phil’s house after sunset and as he got closer he could hear raised voices from inside. His first instinct was to run inside in case something was wrong, but his second instinct was to eavesdrop. They could be discussing what was troubling Tommy. 

He crouched down by a window.

“Why are you so concerned about Dream’s life!?” That sounded like Techno.

“I’m not!” Definitely Tommy’s voice.

An exasperated sigh could be heard, “Yes Tommy, you are. Is there something else going on?” 

“No.” Silence fell over the living room and Tubbo risked peeking inside. Tommy had his head in his hands as he sat on the couch. Phil and Techno were exchanging silent words over Tommy’s head as they stood in the doorways. Both the older men looked concerned.

Quieter, barely a whisper, “Yes. But I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not my secret to tell.”

“You don’t have to protect him anymore Tommy.” Phil sat down next to Tommy and pulled him into a side hug.

“It’s out of respect, Phil.” 

A scoff from the other side of the room, “Does Dream deserve your respect?”

Tommy looked up at Techno, “Do I deserve yours? I betrayed you many times over. I used you. I stole your things. And yet we sit down together at dinner and sleep in the same house.”

Tubbo decided he should make himself known and went around to the front door. He paused before knocking. Was now really a good time? He shrugged to himself, might as well. 

Phil answered the door, “Oh! Hello Tubbo. Did you and Tommy have something planned for tonight?”

“Uh, no actually. I’m just worried about him lately, he seems really stressed. Do you mind if I stay the night?”

“Of course not,” Phil waved him into the house and shut the door behind him. “Tommy! Tubbo’s here!” 

Phil passed Tommy as he came to greet his friend. 

“Whatcha doin’ here so late Tubs?”

“I missed you,” Tubbo answered simply.

“I missed you too big man. Wanna prank Techno?” A glint of mischievousness could be seen in Tommy’s eyes and Tubbo supposed his friend could use a distraction. 

“Of course I do!”

________________________________________________________________

Dream nervously sat down at the women's table. He hoped it wasn’t obvious how stressed he was. 

“I’m Amanda, it’s nice to meet you.”

Dream gave her a small smile as she started placing food on the table, “I’m Dream, thanks for having me.”

“It’s always nice to have new people over and Ranboo seems to like you.” The kid, Ranboo, looked up from his spot and nodded. Dream carried a polite conversation with Amanda for a few minutes before she went to go wake up Ranboo’s brother. 

Ranboo got up from his seat and climbed into the previously empty chair next to Dream. He handed Dream a journal.

“What’s this?”

“Book.” Dream opened it and was surprised to see End language covering the pages.

“Is this yours?” 

“Yea. To learn.” Why in the world was this kid learning a dead language?

“That’s fun.” Ranboo took the book back and began writing in it.

Startled from his trance by a noise, Dream saw Amanda coming down the stairs with another kid. 

“Hi, sorry about that.” He shook his head and began to eat as everyone sat down. Once breakfast was finished the brothers rushed outside to play with other village kids. Dream offered to help Amanda with the dishes. 

“So,” He started as he dried plates, “Ranboo showed me a cool journal earlier.”

“Oh that,” She sighed and looked out the window at Ranboo, “His father was part enderman and before he left, he made sure his kid knew the End language. Ranboo has some memory problems so he writes everything he can in his journals.” 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be nosy.” Dream’s stress level skyrocketed as he feared he would get in trouble for prying.

“Oh you’re fine, everyone else knows about it. I suppose he writes in End because it’s his secret language and because he misses his dad.”

Dream didn’t know if he was being too intrusive but he was curious, “Did his dad… die?”

“No, that almost would’ve been easier to explain. He left us. Claimed he couldn’t handle kids or something.” She dried her hands and turned to look at Dream, “It was a couple of years ago.”

“I’m sorry.” 

“Not your fault,” She began packing a bag with food, “I suppose you’ve got to go soon?”

“Yea, I’ve gotta start my farm.” She handed him a bag full of food.

“Here, just to hold you over until your farm starts producing.” Dream almost forgot how to move. Was this a trick? Was she seeing if he was gonna steal from her? Frozen in fear he held his hand out awkwardly. 

“Thank you.” Amanda walked him to the front door and laughed. 

“I kinda owe you, for bringing my kid back safe.”

Did she not know that Dream wasn't worth anything? He didn't deserve other people's kindness. “Oh, um, you don’t owe me anything, really no trouble.”

“We have plenty of food here, don't worry about it. I also suspect Ranboo will be around now that he knows someone lives out there.”

“I don’t mind.” 

She smiled again, wider this time, “Thank you, if he’s ever too much just send him back home.”

“I will, thank you again.” 

Head swimming with questions Dream made the walk back home in silence. Why did she trust him so easily? Sure she could see what a monster he was. How could she trust a random stranger with her kid? Could he even be responsible enough to watch a kid? Surely not. Dream knew what other people thought of him, he had been told it so many times. A cold-hearted, manipulative, bloodthirsty, psychopath. He was evil and couldn’t be trusted. Dream caused problems and hurt people. He didn’t deserve empathy or sympathy. He didn’t deserve his life. Dream had heard it all from his friends, over and over again. 

When Dream came back to reality he was sitting on the river bank near his hut, just staring. He needed to start his farm and he wanted to take another bath. As he fell into actions he could do in his sleep, he became stuck in his own head. So many conflicting thoughts bounced around his head. He didn’t deserve Amanda’s trust or respect, but he wanted it. Dream decided he’d have to earn it and earn it he would. He would show Amanda he wasn’t completely worthless.


	6. vi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream returns to the village. Techno leaves again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter again! Sorry. 
> 
> !!!TW!!! Minor dehumanization, spiraling thoughts, mentions of panic attacks

Dream had worked all week and it was perhaps the most intensive work he could remember doing (to be fair, his memory was shit). His little farm was growing and it made him smile every time he saw it. So far he hadn’t seen Ranboo or Amanda which made him a little sad, but it was ok because he had found a cat! 

Earlier in the week he had been trapping wild chickens for his farm and found a skinny cat prowling around his coop one night. He offered her some leftover meat scraps and she ended up staying the night. It was nice to have another presence around his little property. 

Climbing out of the river Dream decided he wanted to go to the village. He needed some furniture for his little hut. Would they allow him to trade for things? Or would they remind him exactly what he was worth? The thought made him shake so badly he had to sit down and remind himself to breathe. Would he have to flee from the village people? Would they hunt him down as his friends once did? Flashes of the night he went to prison came intermittently as he worked. 

Moments like those made Dream doubt if he was actually free or not, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to come back to reality if this wasn’t it. No matter how many nights he lay awake afraid to sleep or how many times he startled from the smallest noises anything was better than those obsidian walls. 

He packed up a small bag of his valuables and set off to the village. Everything would be ok. He was ok. This was real. 

________________________________________________________________

Tommy and Tubbo passed out in the living room sometime after midnight, both too exhausted to move to the bedrooms. Phil looked at the teens as he quietly made breakfast. Would they ever recover? The boys missed out on their childhoods, forced into adulthood by war. 

He sighed, he could only do so much if Tommy kept pushing him away. Maybe he would talk to Sam, he and the kid had gotten pretty close post-war.

“I’m leaving Phil.”

Techno’s soft voice startled Phil from his thoughts, “So soon?”

“I can’t just sit around doing nothing. I’ll probably go find more trading posts and villages out North.”

“Stay safe Techno, Dream is still free.”

“Not to be cocky Phil, but that man weighs less than Tubbo and hasn’t held a weapon in months. Spiders have a better chance of killing me.”

“You never know.”

Techno paused, “If I find him and he’s not causing trouble, I’ll just leave him be. I don’t think he’s coming to bother anyone any time soon.”

“Would you bring him back if it gave Tommy peace of mind? He might feel safer with Dream in prison.”

“Maybe.” Techno began to put on his snow clothes, “Dream was once my friend and he never directly caused me trouble. We all did terrible things in the war. Some of us got punished, some of us didn’t.”

“Mhm.” Phil handed Techno a sandwich, “For the morning ride. Make sure you text me at least once a week.”

“I’ll try old man.” Techno went out into the snow and hopped up on his horse Carl and, without looking back, rode out into the snow. 

________________________________________________________________

Dream stood at the edge of the village. All his previous confidence had disappeared the moment he caught sight of the town’s people. He couldn’t do this. Too many people. It was too loud. Unable to move, Dream stood there, frozen and afraid. 

“Dream?” His eyes darted towards the sound, had they found him? It was Amanda, standing a few feet back nervously. Finally able to move, he closed his eyes and let out a long breath. “Are you ok?”

“Sorry, yea, um, lots of people make me nervous.”

“That’s fine. Did you need something?” 

“I don’t want to bother anyone.”

Concern was written all over Amanda’s face, “You aren’t bothering anyone. What did you need?”

“Some furniture for my house.”

“Of course, do you want me to take you to the woodworker's shop?” 

“You don’t have to.” He didn’t need her false sympathy. Dream wasn’t weak. Except he was, he was terrified, and he craved affection. At the same time, he never wanted to be around anyone ever again. He was safer that way. 

“I’ll go get Ranboo? If you’re more comfortable around him?” A small nod from Dream. “Ok, I’ll be right back”

Dream fell into a sitting position. How could he be so weak? This wasn’t who he was. Dream was strong and confident. He didn’t need to be babied. Why was this so hard for him? 

_He stood, emotionless and alone on a hill as his old friends gathered below him. How could they betray him so easily? He wanted peace. Why couldn’t they see that? ___

_“Come quietly Dream, your reign of terror is over.” Dream looked to Quackity, only to find hatred swimming in the young man’s eyes. ___

_“Dream, please,” Sapnap’s unusually quiet voice came from the back of the crowd, “Don’t make me kill you.” Him? Forcing Sap to do something? Please, his friend didn’t do anything he didn’t want to do. ___

_Turning to his (adoptive) younger brother he saw no love in his eyes. Was he really so bad? Dream hardly remembered what he did most of the time, but this seemed dramatic. He expected this to be hard for the people he once called friends. Were they ever really his friends if they could turn on him so quickly? No. ___

_He almost wanted to laugh. His friends weren’t weak but Dream was faster and stronger than them. His entire life had been dedicated to being the best he could be at anything, including fighting. A sad smile graced his face behind the blank mask, fight or run? ___

_Fight. He wouldn’t make the first shot though, Dream never did. Punz was the first to step towards him, as he braced himself he only saw swords and enemies. These people were no longer his friends. ___

__________A small hand grabbing his own shook Dream from his memories._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Hi.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Hey.” The kid pulled him towards the town._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Come on. This way” Amanda walked a few paces behind him and stopped frequently to say hi to her friends. Dream could feel the stares from the townspeople and he was reminded of why he wore his mask. Desperately wishing for the comfort he used to get from his mask, he kept his eyes on the ground. He knew he looked gross, any skin you could see was covered in scars and bruises. His face had a long scar running diagonally across it and he was sure he looked like a zombie._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Suddenly they stopped walking, “Here.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Quickly getting the bare necessities from the woodworker, Dream almost ran out of the shop. It was too much and he could feel his head starting to pound. Ranboo found him a moment later._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Holding out an apple for Dream, “Snack. For you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Uh, thank you.” The kid said nothing and sat down beside him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Oh there you are. Did you get everything you need?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Yes. Thank you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“No big deal.” Ranboo got up and turned to Dream expectantly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Time to go,” Then the kid looked at his mom, “Stay with Dream?” What?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Amanda glanced at Dream nervously. Of course she didn’t trust him. “Only if it's ok with Dream, we don’t want to impose.” Huh?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He looked at them, confused, “It’s ok with me if that's what he really wants.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The kid tugged on his mom’s dress excitedly, “Please! Please! Please!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He didn’t think Amanda could look more excited if she tried. “Ok then.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	7. vii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream and Ranboo have a sleepover  
> Techno travel to new lands  
> Quackity causes problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, but this is the second update today so hopefully that makes up for it! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Thank you so much to everyone who has bookmarked and left kudos! It encourages me to write more and I appreciate it. Lot's of love <3
> 
> !!!TW!!! Discussions of violence, sorta

Amanda had trusted Dream to take Ranboo home all by himself. She gave him a bedroll, lots of snacks, a canteen of apple juice, his journal, and Ranboo’s favorite stuffed toy -a raggedy old ghost doll-. They set off for Dream’s house right before sunset, he figured they would have a nice view with dinner. The further they got from Amanda, the more stressed he got. He didn’t know how to be responsible for a kid. What was he thinking? Dream really didn’t want to disappoint the kid though. He would deal with himself later. 

The kid grabbed his hand once his mom was out of sight.

Dream looked down at him, “You ok?”

“Yea.” Dream watched Ranboo survey their surroundings with wonder only a little kid could have. The whole walk home Ranboo never let go of his hand. 

“Well,” Dream was very nervous to show this kid his home. What if he didn’t like it? “Here we are.” 

“Farm.”

“Yea! Yes, that’s what I’ve been working on this week.”

“Why you were gone?”

“Uh,” Had Ranboo missed him? Nah, “Yea I’ve been very busy with it this week.”

“Thought you left us.”

“Oh. No, I didn’t.” Did he really just say that? He wasn’t this kid’s dad. Who did he think he was? 

“Good.” Ranboo saw his cat and immediately ran towards it. “Name?”

“She doesn’t have one yet, sorry kid.” Silence followed his response as Ranboo pet the cat.

After a few moments of thinking suddenly, “Patches.”

“Sure kid.” Ranboo turned to look at Dream and smiled at him. Was that ok? “I’m gonna go put your stuff away. If you’re ok out here for a moment.” Ranboo left the cat and ran to Dream’s side, grabbing his hand again.

“Together.” He could do this. 

“Ok.”

________________________________________________________________

Techno was heading in a direction he rarely frequented. Mostly because there was nothing out here for miles. He didn’t know why that ever stopped him before. Maybe it was him not wanting to stray so far from home. Techno wasn’t sure when Phil’s house stopped being his home and started being his dad’s home. Maybe it was time for him to go out and make his own home. 

Perhaps this empty land would become his home.

________________________________________________________________

Sam exhaled heavily. Tensions had yet to settle a couple of weeks post-Dream’s disappearance, people were dividing themselves up again. Having Dream as a common enemy had united everyone in some weird, twisted way. 

He was walking to a meeting Quackity had called and his intestines were turning. Did Dream show up? Was he ok? Dream could be dead for all anyone knew.  
He sat down at his usual seat because he hadn’t called the meeting. Looking around, it seemed that most people were already in attendance.

Quackity cleared his throat, “I’m tired of waiting around for Dream to come and get his revenge. I called this meeting to invite everyone to join my search party. We’re going out to find Dream and end this, once and for all.” 

Many voices started speaking all at once and Sam spoke over all of them, “Hold on, hold on, do you not remember what Philza said? I also don’t see the point in going out and searching for him. He’s not bothering us and if he does come back, he’ll return to prison.” Heads nodded in agreement and Sam was glad they weren’t all going insane. 

“Fuck that,” Quackity’s voice was a dangerous whisper, “All he’s ever done is terrorize us. I’m tired of it. The butcher army is finishing what we started.”

“You do realize that you are starting conflict now? And if a majority of the Greater SMP agree, you could be committing treason.” 

“You, Sam, are not in charge here, Eret is. The price he paid for his spot on the throne was neutrality. So really, I can do whatever I want.” 

“You’re dividing us again Quackity. Turning friends and family against one and another.”

“I’m not dividing shit. Either you’re smart or you’re afraid.”

“Bullshit.” Heads snapped towards Punz. 

“Excuse me?”

“Bullshit. You’re afraid of Dream and you’re acting irrationally because of it.”

“Fuck you, man. This is for the safety of everyone here.”

“You’re weak and you’re afraid.”

“What the fuck!? I’m not fuckin’ weak man.”

Punz sighed and stared at Quackity for a few moments, “Strong people don’t hunt down other people. Strong people look at the facts and make their decisions based on logic.”

“And what are the facts, Punz?” A taunting tone came through Quackity’s voice and his face turned up in an ugly sneer.

“Dream is a skeleton of a man. He hasn’t made any moves to hurt us, taunt us, or manipulate us. Not to mention, you and Dream barely had conflict beyond anything political. He didn’t manipulate you for weeks, he didn’t lie to you and betray your friendship, actually you benefitted from Dream’s actions originally. He backed Jschlatt and in turn you.” The room was silent, “Stop acting like you carry the weight of Dream’s actions. Move on, and if you’re afraid, just say it.”

Punz pushed back his chair and left the meeting room. Sapnap, George, Purpled, Ponk, Alyssa, Callahan, Bad, Skeppy, and the majority of others rose and left with him. 

“Fuck you guys. I don’t need you.” 

Sam looked at Quackity quizzically, “Maybe you should listen to your friends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder, if you have questions or suggestions leave them in the comments. I love hearing from you guys!


	8. viii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream and Ranboo bond, Quackity causes problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, so sorry for the late update, I had a very busy day and a hard time deciding how I want to write characters. Hope you enjoy it and as always I love hearing from y'all in the comments!

Ranboo tried to help Dream make dinner, but he ended up playing with Patches instead. They ate quietly, the kid only making a few comments here and there about Dream’s home and the food. Ranboo returned to playing with Patches and Dream was lost in thought as he cleaned dinner dishes. Was he doing this right? He felt like he should do something special for the kid. He was fucking this up, wasn’t he? Dream wanted to do something good. 

“Hey, kid?” Ranboo turned towards him. “Do you wanna make something with me?” He nodded. “Ok, do you have any ideas?” Ranboo stared expectantly at Dream like he was supposed to read his mind. 

After a few seconds of confused staring, he finally spoke, “Swing.” Dream relaxed. He could make a swing easily.

“We can start now? If you want to?” Ranboo jumped up and nodded happily. “Cool. Um, the shed. We’ll go to the shed and make it out there ok?”

“Ok.” The smile on Ranboo’s face didn’t fade the whole way to the shed. He was still smiling when Dream asked him what color he wanted to paint it. A couple of hours later they stood back to admire their work. The swing could fit two adults or three people, it was a calming teal and had Ranboo and Dream’s names written on the side. 

Dusk had long since passed and Dream promised Ranboo they would hang it up in the morning. As they made their way back to the hut, Ranboo paused and looked up at Dream in fear.

“What if I forget?” Dream took a moment to process the meaning behind his words.

Kneeling down to eye-level with Ranboo, “It’s ok to forget things,” Fuck, fuck, fuck, what else could he say? “I forget things sometimes. It can be really scary to forget things we want to remember, but I’ll remind you if you forget. You can remind me when I forget things too, we’ll help each other ok?” Was that good? 

Ranboo relaxed, “Ok.” A tentative smile appeared on the kid's face. Everything was ok. As they walked the short path to Dream’s hut, Ranboo gripped his hand even tighter than usual. 

Getting Ranboo situated in his bedroll wasn’t as hard as Dream had suspected it would be, the kid was very easy going and agreeable. He blew out all the lights except a lantern in the kitchen (total darkness wasn’t something Dream was ready to deal with yet) and climbed into bed. 

Dream yawned, “Goodnight Ranboo.” 

A mumble from the floor, “Night.” 

Right as Dream was about to fall asleep he felt a small body snuggle up next to his. Patches? No, the kid. He was frozen for an instant, unsure of what to do, when Ranboo’s little arms hugged Dream and Dream carefully hugged him back. 

He was ok with this.

________________________________________________________________

While the majority of the Greater SMP members had turned their backs to Quackity, his cause wasn’t lost to all. Fundy, Jack, and reluctantly, Tubbo showed up to what was once the Butcher Army’s control room. 

“Each of you has to prove to me you are one hundred percent faithful to the cause,” Nervous eyes darted around the room, “I need commitment or we will fail.”

Tubbo spoke first, “I’m worried about Tommy. Dream caused him so much pain and I can tell that this is stressing him out. I- I don’t really want him dead,” 

Tubbo struggled for words, “I just want Tommy to feel safe.”

Quackity stared at Tubbo as if he could see right through him and into his soul.  
“You’re in.” Quackity turned to face Fundy, “What about you? Turned on your crush so soon?”

“That’s irrelevant, I want Dream gone.”

“Why?”

“He helped Techno escape his execution.” 

“And?”

“It’d be better for everyone to have some peace of mind.”

Without responding, Quackity turned to Jack, “I don’t know you.”

“No, but I’ve taken it upon myself to rid this server of its troubles because no one else will.” Raising an eyebrow, Quackity encouraged him to continue, “Dream causes problems… I’m cleaning up the server… Do I have to spell it out for you?”

“Shut up robot boy.” Reaching down to grab something, Quackity placed a map on the table they were surrounding, “This is a map of the explored and discovered areas of the Greater SMP. We’re going to start by searching through these areas completely before moving on into unexplored territory. Whenever two of us have time, take a copy of this map and mark off the areas you’ve searched and cleared. Then come back here and add your information to this collective map. If anyone sees anything suspicious or finds Dream, message the private group chat I’ve made. Questions?”

Fundy spoke, “Why do we have to message the group chat?”

“I suspect Dream will have begun training again and gotten some OP supplies from who knows where. We have a better chance of accomplishing our mission if we all go.” 

Jack tapped the map on the table, “Once we’re done with these areas, how do we explore further out?”

“Probably all four of us travel together since it’s unknown territory, we’ll take supplies for longer trips and return home when we need more supplies. Is that all?”

“We should probably have some of us working on getting strong armor and weapons.”

“Yes, all supplies gathered from here on out are the group's supplies. Leave things in those chests. If that’s all, meeting dismissed.” As the group quickly filed out the door Quackity spoke again from below them, “This location and the actions of this group are secret, don’t go blabbering to your friends.” 

________________________________________________________________

Dream woke with the sun. Last night was perhaps the best sleep he had gotten since he had escaped. As he became more aware of his surroundings he noticed the kid was missing. Quickly climbing out of bed he frantically looked around. 

“Ranboo! Kid?! Where’d you go?” Not finding him inside Dream went outside. A quiet whimper came from behind the chicken coop. Dream slowed as Ranboo came into his sight, “Hey bud, whatcha doin’ out here so early?”

Ranboo just shook his head and hugged himself tighter.

“Ranboo? Do you know who I am?” 

…

“No.” Fuck.

“Ok, that’s fine. I’m gonna go get your journal ok?” Ranboo nodded. A million thoughts a minute ran through Dream’s head as he went to get the diary. How was he supposed to handle this? Obviously, the kid was scared. Dream had no idea. 

Stopping a few feet from Ranboo, Dream set the journal on the ground and slid it over to him. “Here.” With trembling hands, Ranboo opened the journal and started reading. Dream sat there, silently, waiting for him to say something.

“Dream?”

“Yes, that’s me. We’re at my house.”

Glancing down at the diary, “We’re friends?”

“I would like to think so. Yesterday we made a swing together.”

The kid flipped through more pages before picking one and turning the book to show Dream. The only words that were written in English in the whole book _‘It’s ok to forget things. Dream forgets things too. It can be scary to forget, but Dream will help me remember. We will help each other.’ _Dream wanted to cry.__

__“Yes, I said that. It’s ok. You did nothing wrong.”_ _

__Slowly Ranboo stood up, “Swing?”_ _

__“Do you want to see it? We can hang it up today.” A nod yes. “Ok, um, follow me I guess.” Staying a good distance from Dream but still following him, they made their way over to the shed. “I’ll bring it out.”_ _

__Ranboo’s whole face lit up when they finally had it hung. They had decided to hang it over the river, where it swayed gently in the wind. “Do you want me to help you get on?” Ranboo didn’t answer him and instead grabbed Dream’s hand (for the first time that day) and pulled him over to the swing._ _

__“Swing. Together.” A sigh of relief escaped Dream._ _

__Everything was ok._ _


	9. ix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream and Amanda get closer.  
> Niki, Eret, and Puffy have a discussion.  
> Tommy struggles with his emotions (aha again)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you saw me upload this already, no you didn't. I wrote this in the car so sorry for any mistakes. I love hearing y'all's feedback and ideas, so keep 'em coming! <3

Tommy sat alone on his bedroom floor. Tubbo had returned to Snowchester, Techno was out exploring, and Phil had gone to the village for supplies. 

He felt like he found himself alone more often than not. Tommy felt like he was struggling with understanding himself. Was he worried about Dream? Yes, but in which way? Obviously, he didn’t want the man to die because that would trouble the server, but did he want Dream to be ok? The majority of his thoughts were occupied by Dream. Did he want Dream to move on and never come back? Did he want Dream to return to prison? Did he want Dream to come home and fix all the things he had broken? Tommy didn’t know anymore.

He found trouble in expressing himself to his family. How was he supposed to ask them for help when he didn’t even know what he needed help with?   
In the past few weeks, Tommy had come to one conclusion. He missed Dream. Whether he felt comforted by his presence in the prison or missed having someone who would actually listen to him, he missed the man all the same. And he hated himself for it. 

Who was he to tell his family, who had been traumatized by Dream, that he wanted Dream back? Who did he think he was?

Trapped by his own thoughts Tommy barely slept or ate anymore; the ongoing discourse in his head took up all his time. He knew his family was worried about him but he couldn’t bring himself to reassure them. He saw how they tiptoed around him as if he was going to shatter into a million pieces. He heard the harsh whispers that came down the hallway late at night. He picked up on every pitiful glance, not so subtlety thrown his way. 

He hated being pitied. He hated Dream for leaving him. He hated Dream for hurting him over and over again. And most importantly, he hated himself for sparing the man a second thought.

________________________________________________________________

Dream and Ranboo had been doing odd jobs around the farm when Amanda showed up around midday. She had Ranboo’s little brother on her hip and was carrying a basket of food in her other hand. 

She waved to Dream and Ranboo, “Hi!”

Dream smiled at her tentatively, “Hi, I didn’t know when to bring him home.”

“Oh, it’s fine. It seems like y’all are having a good time.” She put down kid number two, as Dream called him, and began spreading out a picnic blanket. 

“Um,” He hesitated, “Whatcha doin’?”

“Well, it’s almost lunchtime and it's a nice day so we might as well spend some time together on your property if that’s ok with you.”

“Yea, that sounds nice.” As he watched her set up he noticed the picnic blanket was a warm yellow and it briefly reminded him of Tubbo. 

_Tubbo. His little brother?_ Dream was having trouble remembering who Tubbo was to him. _What did he know about Tubbo? Tubbo was friends with Tommy. Tubbo liked building. Tubbo liked bees and farming. Tubbo liked chess. Tubbo… Did he hurt Tubbo?_ Flashes of battles and war sped through Dream’s mind. _Tubbo screaming in fear as Dream brought his axe down on the boy. The pained look in Tubbo’s eyes as Dream fought him with no mercy. The screams of sorrow as TNT went off. Him and Tubbo locking eyes across the battlefield. Dream watching his little brother die at the hands of Technoblade, unable, or perhaps unwilling, to do anything. Dream watching his brother change under the rule of Schlatt._

  
“Dream?” A hand on his shoulder brought him out his thoughts. 

  
As he came back to reality, he felt the tears flowing down his face, and he noticed that way his body shook. Out of blurry eyes, he looked down at Amanda.

  
“Where’d you go?” He found himself unable to answer. She grabbed both his hands and sat him down under a tree. “I’m gonna go get water. I’ll be right back. You’re safe here.” He could only nod at her. 

  
She came back a moment later. “Here.” With shaky hands, he held the glass close to him. “You’re safe Dream. Whatever happened isn’t happening anymore.”

  
“Nothing happened to me, it was me. I- I hurt them. I did bad things.” 

  
“Ok. We all make mistakes, Dream, it’s a part of life.”

  
“Not like these. The things I did, they were-are unforgivable.”

  
“Do you regret it?” 

  
Without hesitation, he answered, “Yes.”

  
“That’s good.” She sat down next to Dream, shoulder to shoulder. “That means that you want to change. It means you’re capable of self-reflection and growth.” 

  
“I don’t regret why I did it. I regret what I did.”

  
“So, why’d you do it?”

  
“I wanted everyone to be peaceful and close again.”

  
“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  
“I ended up hurting them instead.”

  
“Learn from your mistakes. Apologize. Do better.”

  
“I’m trying. I really am.”

  
“Good. Then let’s have lunch.”

  
Dream was beyond surprised, “You still want to be around me?”

  
Amanda gave him a small smile, “I’m sure you’ve done many terrible things in the past, but that isn’t the Dream that I know. Goodness Dream, I trust you with my kids. You’ll share with me when you’re ready and I won’t hold your past over our future. Deal?”

  
“Deal.”

  
________________________________________________________________

  
Niki, Eret, and Puffy were gathered in the bakery after hours. They had spent most of the day baking and discussing nonsensical and unimportant things. Each person carefully avoiding the elephant in the room, that is until Niki broke the silence.

  
“I worry about him.”

  
“Who?”

  
“Dream,” Puffy supplied. 

  
“Oh,” Then a moment later, “Why?”

  
“He lived through the same war we all did, and he lived through it alone. I don’t forgive him,” She paused to put the last batch of cookies in the oven, “But it doesn’t mean he deserves exile and isolation. I would’ve thought after what Tommy went through we all should know better.”

  
“I worry for him too, he’s still my little duckling and I feel responsible for him.”

  
Eret pondered over their words for a moment, “I don’t have any bone to pick with him, at least not now. His time away has allowed me to heal and move on I suppose.”

  
“I wonder if he’s still alone,” Puffy muttered.

  
“Hopefully he’s far far away from here. Have you heard about Quackity’s plans recently?”

  
The girls looked up at them in surprise, “No?” 

  
“What plans?”

  
“He and a few others are going to hunt Dream down 'for everyone's safety'.”

  
“Does Sam or Punz know about this?” Niki asked.

“I suspect they have an idea about what’s going on. Without an official government or person in power, there’s not much they can do.”

  
Puffy sighed. 

  
Niki looked at Eret sadly, “It’s happening again, isn’t it.”

  
With a tone of finality and sorrow, came Eret’s answer, “Yes.” 


	10. x

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno stumbled upon a village  
> Tommy finds out about the hunt for Dream  
> Dream is invited to a party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did this instead of homework :|  
> Double update pog!

Techno had been traveling north for about a week before he came upon a moderately sized village. For a while, the weather had been absolutely dreadful but had recently cleared up. 

Upon closer inspection, the village was situated on the edge of a forest and a flower field. It appeared to be a peaceful village and was marked as a trading post. Intrigued and tired, Techno decided to check into the small hotel (if you could call it that) for the night. 

As he settled into the cozy room for the night, he had a strange feeling. It was almost like he was supposed to be here; almost as if the seemingly endless, empty days he had traveled were worth something.

Never one to rely directly on gut instinct Techno pushed away the feeling in favor of a goodnight’s sleep. Perhaps he would call Phil in the morning.

________________________________________________________________  
Far away, a late-night meeting was called. 

“Has anyone seen any sign of him?” 

“No.” 

Jack tapped his fingers restlessly, “We’ve covered the whole area twice over, no trace of Dream.”

“We need to find him, fast.” Fundy had definitely seen better days Quackity noticed. “The longer he’s out there, the stronger he gets.”

Silence fell over the four.

Tubbo shifted from foot to foot before speaking up, “Didn’t he escape from Phil’s house? Maybe we should change our perimeters.”

A cruel smile slipped onto Quackity’s face, “Good idea Tubster. Jack, get me a new map.”

Inspired and eager, Quackity detailed the new area they were to search as an uninvited visitor listened in. 

Horrified and upset, the eavesdropper slipped out into the night. Who knew about this and why was his best friend involved? Who could he go to for advice? 

As night faded into day, the teenager felt more alone than he had in a long while. Unconsciously his feet led him to Sam’s home.

A few hours later Sam opened the door to Tommy sitting on his front porch, staring into nothing. 

“Tommy?” The kid visibly flinched but turned to face him.

“They’re hunting him.”

“What?”

“Quackity and Fundy and Jack and-” His face contorted in sadness and disappointment.

“And?”

“And Tubbo. They’re gonna hunt Dream down.”

Sam disappeared for a moment before returning with a jacket. “We know.”

Tommy’s eyes snapped up to Sam’s, “The fuck? We? You’re just letting this happen!? What the fuck Sam? You know he’s an admin, I didn’t think you wanted him to die.”

“I don’t- we don’t want Dream to die. There’s not much we can do though.”

“Who the fuck is 'we'?”

Sam stopped in front of the bakery, “C’mere, inside.” Tommy silently followed him in, throwing distrustful glances his way every few moments. Sam opened the door to the backroom revealing everyone inside. 

There sat Puffy, Eret, Niki, Punz, and Bad. 

“All of you knew? And you that shit continue?”

“We do as much as we can Tommy.” Niki sounded tired.

“Which is?”

“Every time they go out a couple of us follow them, in case they find him.” Eret looked at Tommy, “Why do you care about Dream?”

“I don’t.” Tommy snapped. “What happens if you find him?”

“We bring him back and put him on a fair trial. We do things the right way this time.”

Tommy scoffed at the adults, “You think he’ll come willingly?”

“No,” Bad’s gentle voice came from the back, “We’re prepared for that.”

“And you think that the ‘fair trial’ will do him any better? You think he won’t end up in the prison that almost fuckin’ killed him? Huh?”

“It’s true that we all have our biases,” Sam’s voice came from behind him, “We’ve gotten enough of nearby village people to come judge the trial if he’s caught again.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out.”

“Yea,” Punz looked at Tommy, “except we don’t know what to do if he’s better wherever he is.”

“Does it matter?”

Niki sighed, “If this is no longer what Dream considers home, we have no power over him. We can potentially bring him back by force, but if he belongs somewhere else and is accepted by them, it could be considered a war crime.” 

Slumping down in a chair, Tommy rested his head in his hands. “Why can’t we leave him alone? I’m done with this shit.”

Nobody answered him.

________________________________________________________________

Techno liked this village. It was never too loud, nice weather, the people weren’t nosy, no extreme forms of government. He was going to stay a few nights.   
Unfortunately, he did promise to contact Phil so that’s exactly what he was doing. 

Phil picked up on the first ring.

“Hullo.”

“Hey Techno, how goes the trip?”

“Surprisingly good. I’ve found a place I don’t totally hate.”

“How far?” Phil had never been one to beat around the bush, he knew Techno was looking for a place to call home.

“A week out, by horse. Really dreadful weather on the way out here.”

Techno could hear Phil deflate, “That’s nice Techno. That’s very nice.”

Silence hung in the air for a moment.

“You could live part-time out here.”

“I can’t move Techno. Who else will keep them in line?”

“I haven't decided anything yet. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

Phil chuckled, “Techno never calls me to tell me about a place he likes, he only calls to complain about his trips.”

Techno smiled even though Phil couldn’t see him, “You know me well.”

“Indeed. I expect you’ll be back to get your stuff within the month?’’

“If I like it here.”

“I’ll see you soon Techno.”

“See you soon.” And after the older man had hung up, “Bye Phil.”

The local townspeople had informed Techno that there was a celebration tonight and when he asked why, they simply smiled at him and told him it would be fun. 

Begrudgingly, he decided that popping by the party couldn’t hurt. 

________________________________________________________________

As Dream helped Amanda clean the picnic supplies, she pestered him about some celebration tonight. “Dream, I promise you, the party will be fun! We can leave whenever you want.”

“It’s a lot of people.”

“And? You can stay the night at our house. Please, Ranboo wants you to come.” Looking from Amanda to the kid he saw Ranboo nodding quickly.

“Fine.”

“Great! I’ve gotta get the boys cleaned up, but we’ll meet you at the edge of town around dusk?”

“Yes, I’ll be there.” Amanda beamed at Dream and they said their goodbyes.

As they three vanished from his eyesight, Dream savored the peace that came with it. He enjoyed the family coming to visit, but the quiet of the river was always welcoming. 

A small smile on his face Dream spoke to himself, “I’ve got a party to get ready for.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anybody else feeling the tension building? No? *evil laugh* Hope you enjoyed this chapter <3


	11. xii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream attends Syz  
> Techno spots Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I debated on how to write this chapter all day so that's why the long update. Loving y'all's comments it's so nice to interact with my readers! Hope you enjoy it <3
> 
> Also, I'm mildly tempted to make this a Dream/Techno fic, obviously, that's not important to the plot but if it sounds cool lmk. I could also write a side story to accompany this one that has more of the romance, like an epilogue. 
> 
> No TW's this chapter!

Dream stood at the edge of the village nervously waiting for his friends (??) to meet him. There were going to be a lot of people here tonight. So many things could go wrong. 

He took a deep breath. This would be good for him, Amanda and Ranboo would be there and they would have fun tonight.

Peering from a distance, that celebration seemed beautiful, there were twinkling lights and hanging lanterns dotting the sky of the square. Food and drinks seemed to be shared in plenty and Dream could hear the laughter. 

Shaken out of his thoughts by a ferocious hug to his leg, he glanced down to see Ranboo.

“Hi Dream!”

“Hey Ranboo, missed me didn’t you?”

The kid nodded fiercely, “Mhm!”

He spotted Amanda walking towards him, still a bit away. He waved to her. She waved back and when she got closer, she handed him a bracelet. It was a half black, half white, braided bracelet with a vibrant green gemstone in the center. 

“What’s this?”

“A gift. It’s a tradition around here, when someone becomes important to us, we give them a bracelet. It’s handmade and it’s woven with good intentions. I know it probably seems stupid to you, but,” She pulled up her dress sleeve and showed Dream her two bracelets, “It’s meaningful to us.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very sure.” Amanda helped him tie it around his wrist, “One day, if you want, I’ll explain the whole history and full meaning behind the bracelets.”

He answered her quietly, enthralled by his new jewelry, “I’d like that.” Ranboo grabbed his hand as they began their walk to town. “Where’s the other kid?”

“Raven? He’s Ranboo’s half-brother. He spends most of his time with his dad and step-mom, we only watch him when they’re traveling. They got back earlier today.”

“Oh cool.” A moment later, “Is there a reason for the festival?”

“Yes, it's the celebration of plentiful crops. It’s called Syz in our native tongue. It doesn’t happen every year, but when it does it’s wonderful.”

“What, uh, do you guys do?”

“We eat tons of food, drink, listen to good music, and tell good stories.”

Dream relaxed, this wasn’t like the Red Festival, “That sounds fun.”

Ranboo pulled on his hand to get his attention and pointed to a table covered in unlit lanterns, “Look!”

He glanced nervously at Amanda, “What’s that?”

“Wishes, you write what you are grateful for and supposedly the stars hear you and protect your happiness until the next harvest.”

“Can we make one?” Ranboo loved wishes, he usually wrote about his dad, but maybe this year would be different. 

Amanda nodded at Dream, “Why don’t you two make one while I get some food?”

Before he could answer, he was pulled towards the table by Ranboo.

________________________________________________________________

Techno had absolutely no idea what was happening or what he was supposed to be celebrating, but there was food and drinks so he wasn’t complaining.

The village people hadn’t looked at his horns or pink hair strangely, nobody here avoided him like the plague, he was just another person here and he found himself loving the feeling. 

Techno had been offered drinks and dances all night long and perhaps he wasn’t the most sociable person at first, but after a few drinks, he found himself swaying to the music. 

Breathe in. Breathe out. He felt relaxed and peaceful. There were no expectations for him here, only music and delicious food. 

Walking away from the dance floor and towards one of the many food tables, he caught sight of a man that seemed oddly familiar.

The mystery man was dressed in a white button-up shirt and dark brown pants. He had medium length, messy, dirty blonde hair and a lean and tall build. Who was this person? Subtlety moving closer, he tried to catch a glimpse of the man’s face. 

The person had yet to turn around, but Techno noticed a small child next to him. He definitely didn’t know the child. Maybe he was crazy. He directed his gaze downwards as they turned to the kid and picked the kid up, also grabbing two lanterns covered in writing. 

Techno froze as he saw the face of the mystery man.

Dream?

How far had Dream run? And who was the kid on Dream’s hip? What the hell? Should he confront Dream? Should he tell the others? Why were these people letting him walk around freely?

He had to tell Phil, then Phil could make the responsible decision. He sped away from the party to a quiet alleyway where he could still observe Dream but not be overheard. 

Phil picked up on the first ring, per usual. “What’s up?”

A sigh escaped Techno, “I found Dream.”

“What? Really? Where?”

“At the village I’m staying at.”

“You’re sure it’s him?” 

“I’m looking right at him Phil, I’m sure it's him.”

“What’s he look like?”

“He looks healthier than you described him, still skinny, looks like his scars are covered by his clothes. He’s not wearing a mask and, get this, he’s got a kid!”

Phil spluttered, “A kid?”

“Yea, I don’t think it’s his, but him and this kid are just hanging out. I’ve yet to see them separate.” 

“Anything else?”

“He’s got this weird bracelet that everyone else has, I dunno what it means though. He still seems skittish as hell and has been very reserved, but he looks like he’s enjoyin’ himself.”

“That’s good?”

“What do I do Phil?”

Phil was silent for a moment, “Don’t let him know you’re there, we don’t want him to run away again. You know I’ve gotta tell Sam and Tommy about this, I’ll let them decide and keep you updated.”

“Boring.”

“Goodnight Techno.”

________________________________________________________________

Phil’s next text went to Sam, ‘Important info about Dream, gather anyone who needs to know.’

Sam replied fast, ‘Will do, meet at the bakery asap.’

All too soon after, Phil arrived at the bakery and was welcomed by Sam and the crew. He saw Tommy in the corner, looking tired and stressed, no Tubbo in sight.

As he sat down, Punz questioned him, “What was so important that you woke us all in the middle of the night?”

Phil didn’t want to beat around the bush so he spit it out, “Techno accidentally found Dream.”

A chorus of questions came from the group. “Oi! One at a time!”

Niki spoke first, “Is he ok? Where did Techno find him?”

“He seems ok from what Techno described to me, he’s in a village about a week out from my house.”

Eret asked their question next, “What’s he doing?”

“Techno said he was attending a party in the village, no weapons or armor in sight.”

Tommy made eye contact with Phil, “What do we do?”

“That’s up to y’all. I’m only the messenger.” 

“If we can, he should probably go on trial here.” Sam looked saddened by his own words. 

“He needs to come home.” Puffy was the one who spoke, “He needs to deal with the consequences of his actions.”

“Hasn’t he paid enough?” Surprisingly, it was Tommy who spoke, “He spent months in isolation, longer than I did. He didn’t come back to hurt us. I don’t see why we need to bother everyone with this shit again.”

“Language, and everyone member of the Greater SMP deserves closure. To keep this information to ourselves wouldn’t be fair.” 

Sorrow hung heavy in the crowded back room of the bakery. 

Sam stood up and pushed his chair in, “In the morning we’ll call an emergency meeting to inform everyone and then decide as a group what to do. Everyone should get some rest in the meantime.”

The group filed out and returned to their respective homes, minds filled with confusing and conflicting emotions. Were they in the right anymore?


	12. xii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An emergency meeting is called  
> Dream and Amanda bond  
> Techno goes on high alert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahah, don't kill me yet, I'm dragging the suspension out. Hope you enjoy it and thank you for all your feedback on the last chapter! <3

Sam had called the emergency meeting without hesitation, this was important information for all of them. Unsurprisingly, everyone had shown up at the community house at the crack of dawn.

The entire situation felt eerily similar, except this time they knew why they were here. There was no need for him to quiet the group down or ask for attention, all eyes were staring straight at him. 

“I’m sure I don’t need to explain why we’re all here.”

“Spit it out, man.” Quackity looked disgruntled and tired.

“We know where Dream is, and we need to decide what to do with him.”

“Easy,” Jack spoke from his seat towards the back, “We get rid of him. Then we don’t have to spare him a second thought regardless of where he is.”

“Shut up Jack.”

Quackity’s eyebrows rose in interest, “I would’ve thought you of all people Tommy, would want him gone.”

“Technically speaking, pussy, he is gone.”

Quackity continued to goad him on, “Old man’s manipulation still working huh?” 

Tommy rose angrily from his seat, “Shut the fuck up Quackity. You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“Ok,” Came Philza’s voice, “Moving on, we all need to agree on what we’re doing about Dream before I tell you where he is.”

“All in favor of leaving him alone, go to the right. All in favor of bringing him back for a fair trial, stand by the door. All in favor of Dream returning straight to prison, to the left.”

“And if we want him dead?”

Phil turned towards Fundy, “Stay seated I suppose.”

Tommy, Purpled, Ponk, and Callahan stood in the right of the room. Tommy seemed mildly relieved that he wasn’t alone. 

Tubbo stood alone in the left corner of the room.

Jack, Quackity, and Fundy stayed seated and everyone else stood by the door. 

“If we do this democratically, Dream comes home to a fair trial.”

“And if we don’t wanna listen to you?”

“Then, Quackity, you and your cohorts will be charged with treason.”

“What if we get to Dream before you, acting separately from the SMP?” Jack questioned.

“Technically that isn’t illegal, but luckily for us, you have no idea where he is.”

Fundy scoffed at this, “We can just follow you, and when you stop to rest continue onwards.”

Eret spoke next, “It’d be a race then.”

“Then you’d better get goin’ Eret because we’re ready to go.”

________________________________________________________________

Dream made many friendly acquaintances the night of Syz. The whole time seemed to like him and he heard many drunk stories that night. He had a strange feeling early on like he was being watched, but he brushed it off as paranoia.

By the end of the night, Ranboo had fallen asleep in his lap and he was sure he had met half the town by now. As he looked around for Amanda, a strange old man approached him. 

“You’re one too.”

“Excuse me?”

“A hybrid, like the boy. It is your most guarded secret.”

A sigh escaped him, this wasn’t a topic he had given a lot of thought to in recent years. “Promise not to tell?”

“I am the secret keeper boy, your secrets are safe with me.”

Dream was quiet for a moment as he chose his words. “I’m not exactly a hybrid, I’m more of a descendant.”

“Ah, so you are not even human.”

“Not in the way most people define it. My family evolved side by side with humans and we look exactly like them, but some of us have powers and we still live by the traditions of our elders. In my culture, children are left on their own at age 5 and aren’t trained to hone their skills. It’s supposed to be a natural-born instinct, survival of the fittest and such.”

“And your powers?”

“Never developed, my bloodline is old and powers are rare nowadays.”

“Nonetheless, you are special, important.”

“I think I fucked up my destiny long ago.”

“Redemption is in your cards then.”

“If you say so.”

“Well,” The old man smiled, “I hate to be cryptic, but everything you need is within reach. You are meant for greatness, but not in the way you think. I dare say, you are home.”

“I’d like to think so.”

The man patted Dream on the shoulder, “Disregard your doubts boy.”

He was gone before Dream could answer. Spotting Amanda near the edge of the festival, he walked towards her. 

“I just had the strangest encounter.”

She laughed, “I’m sure you had many of those tonight, this town is ancient and mysterious with lots of secrets to discover,” Dream saw the playful twinkle in her eyes, “you fit right in.”

“Thanks for inviting me. I’ve got to get home before it’s too late.”

She threw her head back and laughed again, “Dream, you’re family now. Stay the night here. My home is your home.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, and you can read some books on the history around here, I’m certain you’ll find them interesting.”

“Thank you.” He silently hoped she picked up on everything the thank you was for because he found himself unable to thank Amanda enough.

“Who knew you were a nerd.”

“Shhh, it’s a carefully kept secret.”

“Sure Dream, sure.”

They made their way to Amanda’s, their home. Dream tucked Ranboo to bed as Amanda made him the guest bed. It would be nice to sleep on a real bed again and he fell asleep feeling safe for the first time in a long time.

________________________________________________________________

Not so far away, Techno settled in for a long night. He was suited up in his strongest armor and had his strongest weapons out. The pinkette was waiting for Dream to do something illegal and nefarious. He knew better than to underestimate his childhood best friend. No matter how innocent he looked, Dream was always prepared.

He had last seen Dream walking off with a woman and a child (did he have some secret family?) towards the edge of town. Techno supposed he would peep in windows until he found Dream. Then he would settle in a tree where he could monitor the man until Phil showed up. 

It was gonna be a long week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOL pain


	13. xiii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream finds himself at home  
> Techno stalks Dream  
> All the SMP members set out to find Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am loving this story rn and I'm tempted to make a series with other's backstories and epilogues, so if that's something that you would like lmk! Also, might as well plug my Twitter so we can become mutuals @/ggenevive_ , fair warning tho, I tweet mostly about mcyt. I love you all sm and thank you for the overwhelming support on my writing <3
> 
> !!TW!! Talks of self-harm and suicide, mentions of torture.

Soon after Quackity and his goons had left, Sam organized a decoy plan. He decided that Tommy, Punz, Bad, Niki, and Sapnap would leave with Phil asap on horses to arrive before Quackity. Everyone else would leave around midday, which meant that they would have enough time to catch up if need be, but still be a distraction for the others. 

Not moments after they had vanished from eyesight, Quackity strolled over to Sam. 

He looked far too happy for Sam’s liking. “Hey, Sam.”

“What do you want?”

“Just wondering what it’ll take for you to tell me Dream’s location.”

“As I said before, you are welcome to follow us or travel with us.”

“Even if I told you your base was rigged and ready to blow?” Quackity’s smirk grew bigger. Sam could only pray that he was bluffing. Stay calm.

“Even then.”

“Dude! Seriously? Why?!”

“Because we have to be civilized and fair or we’re no better than Dream. Plus, once he’s dealt with, you’d be on trial next for griefing.”

Quackity looked down and grumbled under his breath, “Lotta faith in the old justice system Sam.”

“Gotta have faith in something.”

“When do we leave?”

“A little past noon. Will you be there?”

“Yea, are we taking horses?”

“Yes.”

Quackity turned to walk away but not before muttering again, “It’s not actually rigged, I’m not Wilbur.”

Sam gave him no response. 

________________________________________________________________

Quackity returned to his group.

“I still want him dead, but we can play their games for a while.”

Fundy spoke, “We might as well let them bring him home, then when he can’t explain himself, we’ll show them why our idea is the best for everyone. They’re holding onto a lot of hope that will disappear within seconds of seeing Dream again.”

“So we’re traveling with them the whole way? And letting them confront Dream and bring him home?”

“We’re going to be there too, and on the trip out, we can slowly convince them to agree with us.” Quackity surveyed his friends, “Let’s pack up.”

________________________________________________________________  
Dream had spent all day in the local library with Ranboo. Once the kid had made the discovery Dream could read End, he practically dragged him to the history section. The kid was ruthless, he made Dream teach him more about the End language and had him read many historical texts written in the old language.

Amanda had been right about the mysteries of the town. Dream found himself falling in love with the town more and more. It felt so right to be here.

He did want to talk to Amanda about his property, Dream enjoyed the isolation and quiet at his home and he didn’t think he could permanently move into the town. He didn’t want to leave Ranboo or Amanda, but he didn’t want them to feel pressured to move in with him either. Most of his day had been spent trying to think of ways to ask Amanda politely. 

Ranboo running towards him with another book startled him out of his thoughts. 

“This one next!”

He snickered, “Why don’t we check that one out and bring it home to read later today? We can go to the park or something while it’s still bright out.”

Ranboo thought about his offer for a long moment. “Only if we get ice cream.”

“Deal! Let’s clean this mess up.”

After profusely thanking the kind librarian for dealing with them all day, getting ice cream from the local dairy, playing with other kids at the park for a while, Dream and Ranboo headed home. 

“Well, did ya have a good day?”

Ranboo nodded excitedly, “Lots of fun!”

“Good.”

Hand in hand they strolled into the homely kitchen. 

“Mom! Guess what! I had the best day, books, and ice cream, and we went to the park.” Ranboo was speaking so quickly Dream could hear him running out of air as he recapped his whole day to his mom. 

She smiled at him, “I’m glad. Are you ready for dinner?”

He nodded at her. 

“Hey, don’t forget to write about your day ok?”

“I won’t! Dream told me my books are like the history books in the library! I’ll always make sure to write in them so nobody forgets!”

“Your books will be history one day bud, once you're done we can eat ok?”

“Ok!?” 

As Ranboo sped off to his room, Amanda turned her head to Dream.

“You’re really good with him.”

“It’s nothing. Seriously.”

“He used to hate writing in his books, said they made him feel stupid. I’ve never heard him talk as much as he does now. It’s a weight off my shoulders because I know my kid will be fine when he grows up.”

Dream leaned on the counter, “I think he helps me as much as I help him.”

Amanda stayed quiet, encouraging him to continue. 

“I journal with him sometimes, whenever I remember the things from my past. It’s weird because I feel like a totally different person, he makes my days brighter.”

“It’s good that you’re dealing with your past Dream and I can attest to your changes. You used to be terrified to be around people and now you make conversation with every other person you meet.”

“I was afraid to hurt them. I spent so many years inflicting pain on those I called family because I was blinded by my good intentions.” He paused, reliving a memory from a life that seemed so long ago, “They put me in prison for it.”

“How big was your city?”

“Small, smaller than here, population-wise. Size-wise, so much larger.”

“Tell me about the prison.”

“I had it commissioned, an inescapable prison. We called it Pandora’s box. Ironic that I got stuck in my own prison isn’t it? There are a few cells that were together, basic prison-style, but I was put in high security. The prison is made completely out of Blackstone and obsidian. It’s got mining fatigue three all over the property, it’d take you literal days with a netherite pickaxe to break through all the layers. The high-security cell is five paces wide and eight paces long, it’s surrounded by obsidian and crying obsidian walls on three sides, layers of lava around that.”

“Oh my god. Was there any entertainment?”

“I had empty journals, a cauldron, a clock, and a lectern.”

“No bed?”

“Escape hazard. I barely slept, mostly I was consumed by my own thoughts and the hateful voices in my head.” 

“Could people visit you?”

“Yea, but it took like 45 minutes to get past all the security checks. It wasn’t worth it to them after the first few weeks. Everything was fully automated, food and water-wise. I went many months with little to no human interaction.”

“That seems like torture.”

“I suppose I deserved it.”

“I'm not sure if anyone deserves that. How did you survive?”

“I didn’t really. I used to take dives into the lava or cut myself with glass shards.”

“Why?”

“The lava? To feel anything again, to see how far I could make it, to see if it was worth it to hold onto hope. The glass was more out of boredom, I would use my blood to paint pictures and images I could barely remember.”

“I’m so sorry Dream.”

“Don’t be, part of me knows I deserve whatever punishment they want to give me.”

“And the other part of you?”

“Wants to put it behind me. I’ve served my time.”

“How long were you in there for?”

“7 months. I think. Could’ve been longer, the warden took my clock away when he found out what I was doing.”

“Speaking of, how did you survive the lava?”

Dream didn’t answer. 

“Dream?”

A whisper of an answer, “I’m an admin.”

“Oh.”

“Server wouldn’t let me die for so long. When it finally let me go, the warden found me and saved my life. I didn’t want to be saved, but it all worked out. I’m here now.”

“For what it's worth, I’m glad you’re here. You’ve made a positive impact on us and the village.”

He only smiled in response.

“Ready for dinner?”

“Yes, I’ll go get Ranboo.”

“Thank you, and thank you for opening up to me.”

“It wouldn’t be anyone else.”

________________________________________________________________

A few days later, Techno received a whisper from Phil ‘about a day out, should arrive tmr around noon.’

Sighing in relief he replied ‘ok.’

Watching Dream had been endlessly boring. The only interesting moment is when Dream would disappear for hours at a time into the woods, easily and accidentally losing Techno.

Techno didn’t want this responsibility. He was ready to pass this discovery off and return to his search for a home.

He was ready to move on from a war he was forced into.


	14. xiv

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream ask Amanda and Ranboo to move in with him  
> The greater SMP members arrive a the village.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AhhhHHHHh! Hold on to your seats.  
> I had lots of fun writing this chapter! And chapter 15 should be out later today for those of you who are ready for the climax. Lots of love and thank you for reading <3

Dream woke up with an unsettling feeling in his stomach. Something felt off. He informed Amanda he was heading out to his house for the day, she said that it was fine and asked him to take some boxes out with him.

He had asked them to move in with him at dinner last night and Amanda had loved the idea. She was a bit sad about being far from the village, but moving out meant she could finally open her own shop in her old house. The moving process had been slow and carefree, taking stuff over whenever someone headed out to the forest home.

Ranboo loved the farmhouse and insisted on doing the majority of chores. Dream would wake up at the crack of dawn to Ranboo begging him to unlock the small barn so he could feed and play with the animals. 

Amanda would appear occasionally to check on the boys and bring them food as she spent most of her time renovating her cottage. Dream came to the village most days to help her renovate and do odd jobs for other villagers. He would often come home with presents or tokens of appreciation from the shop owners he had helped out during the day. It was a nice way for him to be productive on the days he wasn’t farming. 

Ranboo was in school today so that meant he was alone at the house, unable to shake the uneasy feeling he had woken with he busied himself with farm chores.  
As he worked, his mind wandered to his old friends. How were they doing? Had they moved on as he had? Dream still had the occasional nightmare or panic attack as he learned to cope with his past, but often he could revisit memories without too much pain.

Dream was unsure where he stood with himself, part of him hated himself for all he had done to the people he called family, the other part of him had come to terms with the past. It was easy to put his past behind him most days, he could focus on the good he was doing instead.

His heart ached for his old family some mornings, and he figured today was one of those days. He was glad he could reminisce in peace. 

Everything was ok.

________________________________________________________________

Phil sent a whisper to Techno early in the morning, ‘Here, come meet up with us.’

Techno sighed, he supposed it was too much to hope that he didn’t have to be a part of this. ‘Coming.’

As he arrived at the small camp a few minutes from the village, he was greeted by low-spirits and an air of nervousness. 

“Have you been watching him all week?” Phil asked. 

“Yea.”

Niki looked at Techno with reserved hope in her eyes, “What’s he like?” 

“What kinda loot does he have?” Asked Quackity.

“How prepared do we need to be?”

“Woah! One at a time. First of all, I doubt you even need weapons, I haven’t seen him pick up a weapon or a piece of armor the whole time I’ve been here. Secondly, he spends most of his time helping the townspeople with odd jobs here and there and he is usually hanging out with this little kid and who I would presume to be the kid’s mom.”

“You’re serious?”

“Yes Tommy, I’m serious.”

“He’s not up to anything?”

“Not that I’ve seen. He reads a lot and the villagers seem to like him.”

Tommy put his head in his hands, “Why the fuck are we even here then?”

Bad patted Tommy’s shoulder, “Closure and justice.”

“Wait,” Niki spoke up, “If he’s a part of this village, we can’t just take him. That’d be a war crime.”

“I don’t think we’ll have a problem with that, just because Dream works with them doesn’t mean they accept him.” Quackity looked around, “Let’s go find him.”  
Heads turned towards Sam for confirmation, “Yea, suit up. We’ll go look for him. Remember though, we aren’t here to fight the villagers, we’re only here to bring Dream home.”

Silence befell the group as they apprehensively put their armor on. 

“When we get there, ask around about Dream, don’t split up. We’ll confront him together.”

A few nods could be seen as Techno began to lead them towards the village. 

The walk only took the group ten or so minutes, coming to a stop to collect themselves at the edge of the village they readied themselves for conflict. 

“That’s the house he frequents,” Techno pointed to a two-story cottage on the other side of the village, “If you don’t bother the people, they won’t bother you.”

Sam took the lead as they neared the cottage home. Coming to a stop on the steps, he took a deep breath before knocking on the door. 

The door swung open to reveal a middle-aged woman, she surveyed the intimidating group before looking at Sam, “Hello, can I help you?”

“Yes actually, do you know a man who goes by the name of Dream? We’re looking for him.”

“Why?”

“Miss, we know you’ve come in contact with Dream, please just tell us where he is and we’ll be out of your hair.”

“First of all, it's Amanda. Secondly, why are you looking for him?” She glanced back at the group, “You don’t need a goddamn army for one person.”

Sam shifted his feet nervously, and out of his peripheral vision he could see a crowd gathering, “He’s a very dangerous individual, I’m sure he has you all quite fooled, but it’s for everyone’s safety. We’ll take him somewhere he can be contained.”

“You wanna take him back to the prison?”

Eyebrows shot up in surprise, he told her about the prison? “How do you know about that?”

“Dream is a part of my family, I trust him and he trusts me,” She crossed her arms and stepped out onto the porch, looking out at the group she addressed them all, “Go home. You have no business here.” 

Niki looked around nervously before speaking, “I’m not sure what twisted story he told you, but he needs to come home and face the consequences.”

“I’m very aware of what Dream has done. He’s talked about the atrocities he committed during war enough for me to put the pieces together. I also know who Dream is now. He is home.”

Quackity looked angry, “We aren’t asking, lady.”

“Neither am I.” Amanda looked angrier as she spoke her next words, “How long did Dream spend in that hell hole of a prison? Do any of you even know what he did to himself in prison? Would any one of you volunteer to go months on end in total isolation with only never-ending light to comfort you? Get your heads out of your asses and go home. Dream has paid for what he’s done, more than any of the rest of you, and he’s working hard to be better.” Her smoldering stare swept over everyone, “Goodbye.”


	15. xv

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream meets old friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many of y'all commented about Amanda that I couldn't respond to them all. Yes, she is a badass, yes she did pop off, yes I'm in love with her badassery, yes she's an absolute queen.  
> Hopefully, y'all aren't too mad about this chapter hahahahahahaha *nervous laughter*  
> Thank you so much for all the feedback, lots of love as always <3
> 
> If anyone ever wants to reach out on Twitter or become mutuals, my user is @ggenvive_ 
> 
> !!TW!! mild violence, discussions of torture.

As the group hurriedly walked away from Amanda’s house, many grumbles of dissatisfaction could be heard. 

“Man, what the fuck was that?”

Techno snorted before answering Quackity, “We just got yelled at by a mother.” 

“She was pretty scary to be fair.” 

“Yes,” Sam stopped everyone at the edge of the village, “she was scary Tubbo. We need a new plan.”

Phil turned to Techno, “Didn’t you say he hung out with a kid too?”

“Yea..”

Quackity piped up, “We could use the kid to get to Dream.”

“I, uh, don’t like the sound of that.”

“We won’t actually harm the kid Tech, chill. We’ll just use him to draw Dream out.”

“Or we can ask the kid where Dream is?” Niki suggested.

Bad voiced his agreement with Niki, “I like that idea better.”

“Fine. Whatever.”

“Anyone see a school around here?”

________________________________________________________________

Dream snapped out of his thoughts sometime in the early afternoon, remembering he’d promised Amanda that he would pick Ranboo up from school today. Quickly cleaning himself up and locking up the farm, he grabbed his bag and began the walk to town.

It was a nice day with temperate weather. He had taken a nice swim in the river and journaled a bit during lunch. After harvesting food from the farm and sorting it in the cellar he had read up on the history of the town.

Turned out it was an ancient town and had been around when the End and the overworld had open passage to one another. People and creatures from both places lived peacefully together. Dream found it fascinating, he was learning about his ancestors and their culture. 

Apparently, his people didn’t rely on human food to survive so they came to the overworld for work and humans visited the End like a tourist attraction. He hadn’t found out what caused the peaceful time period to end and he was intrigued to find out more about strongholds and the closure of portals. 

The closer he got to the village the more his stomach turned, the unsettling feeling of unease from the morning came crashing down on Dream. It gave him enough stress that he hurried his pace to Ranboo’s school. 

________________________________________________________________

Niki tapped on Sam’s shoulder, “I think I found the school.”

“Great, Techno! Come up here and point out the kid Dream hangs with.”

Slowly, Techno made his way up to the two, “I’m not so sure about this.”

“We aren’t gonna hurt the kid, we’ll just ask him about Dream.”

Techno looked around for a moment at the schoolyard, “There, the kid with the split-dyed hair.” 

“Oh, I see him. Alright,” Turning back to the group Sam addressed them, “Niki, Bad and I are gonna go talk to the kid so we don’t overwhelm him. The rest of you stay here and keep a lookout for Dream.”

The trio walked towards the kid who was currently in a tree. As they got closer the kid noticed them and started defensively at the three.

“Hi,” Niki waved at the kid, “I’m Niki and these are my friends Bad and Sam. We were wondering if we can ask you a few questions?”

The kid stared at them without answering. “I don’t know you.”

They looked at each other before Bad spoke, “I know you’re probably not supposed to talk to strangers, but it’s really important.”

The kid was silent for a moment before nodding.

“We’re looking for a man called Dream. It’s very critical that we find him. Do you know where he might be?”

The kid nodded yes. 

“Could you tell us in words?”

“What’s your name?” The kid asked.

“I’m Sam, what’s yours?” He repeated himself.

“Ranboo.”

“That’s a cool name.”

An awkward silence settled over the four. 

Ranboo spoke again, “Can’t help you.”

Niki managed to speak as the other two let out noises of confusion, “But you know where he is?”

“Yes.”

“Can I ask why not?”

Ranboo turned to look right at Sam, “Dream screams your name when he has nightmares.”

________________________________________________________________

Dream was running once the village was in sight. He wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating the flashes of purple between the village houses, but he didn’t want to take that chance.

He ran to the back of the school, hoping he could find Ranboo without being spotted. As he peeked around the corner, he could hear voices straight from his memory mixed in with Ranboo’s voice and he saw three people standing around him. Looking further back he could see what looked like the entire SMP hovering on the roadways.

Fuck fuck fuck. 

Ranboo.

He had to keep Ranboo safe. As much as he wanted to run, Ranboo was his priority. 

He summoned a commanding tone, “Leave him alone.” 

Stepping out from behind the tree, he made himself known. Dream could feel his hands shaking and it took all his willpower to not collapse on the spot. Calling upon more faked confidence, he stepped between Ranboo and everyone else. 

“I don’t care what you want from me. We can go as long as you don’t touch him.” 

He could feel the stares of his old friends as they took in his appearance. 

It was Sapnap who spoke first, “Dream? Is that really you?” 

He didn’t answer, instead turning around to face Ranboo, crouching down next to him. He whispered to the kid, “I’ve got to go with these people for a little bit ok? I promise I’ll come back one day. You need to go get your mom, tell her I had to go.”

“What about the farm?”

“It’ll be ok, you can look after it with the other kids, make it a kid's area or something.”

Ranboo threw himself around Dream in a tight hug. “How long?”

Dream hugged him back, “I don’t know buddy. The moment I can, I’m coming right back.”

“Don’t go.”

“I’ll be ok.” He handed his bag to Ranboo and walked him to the path that led to his house. 

Once Ranboo was out of sight he turned to the group, anger evident in his eyes, “What the fuck is wrong with you. He is a child! I thought you were better than me, following your morals and whatever other bullshit you spew. I’ll go with you, you can stick me back in that hell hole for as long as you want. You can torture me however you want if you swear to never come back here. Not for a visit, not if you’re traveling this way, not to live here. You will leave this place alone and untouched. Your violent ways and tendencies will never scar this land. Am I clear?”

“Dream, chill.” His icy glare snapped towards Sapnap, but his words were interrupted by Quackity. 

“Dude, we can do what we want. Or did you forget that you aren’t in charge anymore?” 

Puffy stepped out in front of the others, “We’re going to put you on trial, and what happens to you will be decided then.”

He scoffed, “You think any trial you put me on will be fair? Any jury that listened to your stories would throw me in prison quicker than you can blink. You’re just trying to remove the guilt that accompanies you everywhere you go.”

“We don’t feel guilty motherfucker.”

“Clearly you do Quackity, deep down inside you, you know it isn’t humane to put me in that place. I almost died in there, I spent months trying to kill myself to escape the isolation. Even Tommy wasn’t completely alone when he was exiled. You don’t want my blood on your hands because it scares you to be responsible for the death of another. I’m not stupid.”

Many of them were stuck staring at Dream, who was this person? Any visible skin was covered in scars, minus his face (which still had a few), his hair was fluffy and golden, his eyes looked alive, he had gained some weight since his time in prison. They were so used to seeing the man covered in weapons and armor that it was startling to see him so bare. Dream looked like a regular person.

Hbomb slowly approached Dream, “We have to tie your hands, so you don’t run. Then we’re gonna go to our camp, we’ll leave in the morning.”

“If I wanted to run, I would’ve.”

“Why didn’t you?” Dream lifted his head to make eye contact with Tommy. 

“Would you ever stop chasing me?”


	16. xvi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream is taken by the SMP members  
> Amanda calls a council meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
> 
> The next chapter should come out later today for anyone interested, hope you enjoy this chap! <3

Dream sat isolated from the others, head resting on a tree, eyes closed. 

Everyone else was gathered around the campfire.

Quackity whispered, “What’s wrong with him?”

“I’m not sure…”

Tubbo looked over at Dream before speaking, “Ey!,” Dream didn’t react, “Whatcha planning?”

No answer. 

Phil got up and walked closer to Dream, “You ok?”

No answer.

Quackity’s anger rose, “Hey! We’re talking to you!” 

Dream’s eyes opened and he turned to stare at Quackity. 

Before he could say anything Tommy interrupted them, “You're not even trying to escape.”

Dream moved his gaze from Quackity to Tommy, “No, I’m not.”

“Why?”

“I’d never find peace. I could never stop running.”

“The Dream I knew didn’t give up.”

“Maybe I’m not the Dream you knew anymore.”

“Dream,” Sapnap’s quiet voice came from the back, “You really expect us to think you’ve just moved on and weren’t planning revenge?”

“No,” His eyes closed again, “Your story of me will never change. You insist on telling a single story. I’m not gonna spend my time trying to change your mind.”

George looked pained as spoke, “Why not?”

“Your story of me is already written in the history books, your prejudice isn’t one you’re willing to change. I have other priorities.”

“Like?”

“I have a farm to run and a kid to care for.”

“Is he actually your kid?” Niki questioned.

“No,” Dream raised his hand to show them the bracelet, “But we are family.”

“What is that?”

Dream opened his eyes and looked sadly at Bad, “These bracelets are symbols of acceptance in the village. They’re gifts from each other. When you’re given one it means you’re a part of that family, forever.” 

The SMP members were startled into silence. 

Turning away from Dream, they spoke amongst themselves.

“Is he lying to us?”

“He has no reason to,” Sam carefully considered his next words, “And if he is a part of the village, we could have a war on our hands.”

Turning back to Dream, Niki pestered him with more questions.

“What did Amanda mean when she talked about what you did to yourself in prison?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Clearly not, she seemed pretty worked up about it.”

“When did you talk to her?”

“Before we talked to the kid,” Dreams eyes flew open at the mention of the kid, “We went to Amanda, we hoped she would tell us where you were. She told us to politely fuck off.”

He gave a small smile at that before frowning, “You went too far with Ranboo.”

Bad interrupted the two, “We never intended to hurt him, you have to understand that!”

Dream raised his voice, “And I never intended to hurt you!” He paused, lowering his voice to a hoarse whisper, “We all saw how that worked out. How far would you’ve gone to find me? What ‘morals’ would you have discarded in hopes to exact revenge?” His eyes fluttered shut, “You are no better than I am.”

________________________________________________________________

Ranboo ran all the way home.

He busted through the door, words coming out faster than Amanda could understand.

“Woah, slow down buddy. What happened? Are you ok?”

“People in purple, Dream save me, he’s gone now, with people.” He managed to get out through deep breaths 

“Oh Ranboo,” She hugged her kid close, “It’s ok, I’m glad you’re safe. Are you ok?”

He nodded yes frantically, “Dream! Mom, you have to help him. Please.”

“I will bud, I promise. I’m gonna drop you off at Raven’s house and then I’ll gather some village people to help Dream ok?” 

“I want to help.”

“I know, but it could be dangerous. Once we have Dream back safe and sound, I’ll bring him right to you ok?”

“Promise.”

“I promise.”

After dropping Ranboo off, Amanda went to call a council meeting.

The town may appear to be full of defenseless farmers and traders, but that was far from the truth. Kosto was a village full of warrior descendants. Strength, speed, skill, and agility were in their blood. They didn’t flaunt their abilities unless they needed to, choosing to live peacefully.

Amanda knew that she would have to explain Dream’s situation to the council and she could only hope they wouldn’t hold his past over his head. 

The warriors of the village filled in quickly and quietly, calling an emergency meeting was something to be taken seriously even late at night. 

“Hello Amanda,” Greeted the Elder with a smile.

“I’ll get to the point, Dream, the young gentleman who has been milling around the village for the past month has been taken by the army who visited earlier today. I would like to rescue him.”

“Why did they come for him?”

“They’re here for Dream because he committed some horrible things during wartime.”

“Did he flee immediately after the war?”

“No, he spent months in prison.”

“How were the conditions in prison?”

“No natural lights, raw potatoes, no bed, total isolation for months on end, no sense of time.”

“Inhumane. How did he end up here?”

“They found him close to death and brought him out to receive medical care. He says he woke up alone one night and ran, never looked back.”

“Did he have intentions of fleeing to our protection?”

“No, Ranboo found him alone about an hour south of here. He brought the kid back home and had no intentions of staying. Very skittish for the first couple of weeks. I’m not even sure he knew this place existed.”

“His behavior has been wonderful during his time here, would you agree?”

“Yes, he’s definitely changed. From the bits and pieces he tells me, he was an entirely different person.”

“Do you suspect he is using our trust for freedom?”

“No.”

“But he left with them willingly did he not?”

Another voice spoke up before Amanda could, “He only left with them with the promise that they would never step foot here again. He also stepped up to protect Ranboo.”

Amanda smiled gratefully at the school teacher, “I don’t even think he knows we have weapons here.”

“I have seen nothing but kindness from the man in his time here, my vote will be to save him. He is one of us.”

A leatherworker spoke up, “We are no strangers to crimes committed during war, my vote is yes.”

Amanda’s heart swelled as others voiced their agreements, Dream was healing here. 

“Now for the not-so-fun part, logistics. Everyone who is willing, the fight is completely optional, will suit up and meet them at their camp tonight.” The man smiled, “Darkness is our friend. Amanda will attempt to negotiate with them, if all else fails, we will bring Dream home.”

Amanda hesitated before speaking, “Dream wouldn’t want more wars in his name, I suggest we bluff, present our strengths, and if they refuse, give them a time period for consideration. We can extract him with minimal conflict another time if all else fails.”

“Very well. Meet in the square in fifteen minutes, remember to turn your lights off before you leave, we are warriors of the night and will act as such.”


	17. xvii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amanda confronts the SMP members

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god, I loved writing this chapter. What's y'all favorite quote from the book so far?
> 
> !!TW!! talks of self-harm and suicide,

Amanda led the group towards the light they could faintly see in the distance. Her people stealthily traveled in the trees, the only visible thing were the pairs of eyes that glowed menacingly in anticipation. 

She reminded herself that she was a warrior and that she wasn’t alone. She could do this for Dream. She wanted to do this for Dream.

As the group approached Dream’s kidnappers, she took a quick survey. The SMP members had more in numbers than the village, but there were reinforcements back home if anything was needed. She had no doubt that very few of the SMP members could match any of them in skill. 

Signaling for everyone to disappear Amanda observed the campsite. They were sitting in a ring of trees (really their fault for making it that easy to surround) and gathered around a campfire. 

Clearing her throat, she made her presence known. 

Heads snapped in her direction and weapons were drawn quickly. Amanda only smiled in response, keeping her stance casual. 

“I’m not here to fight you.”

“Then why are you here?” She could hear the hostility seeping from one of the men.

Tilting her head, “What’s your name?”

“Quackity.”

The one who knocked on her door stepped up to speak, “I’m sure your intentions are honorable, but we don’t want to hurt you. You can come to Dream’s trial and vouch for him there.”

“You mistake me, I am not asking.” 

Dream shook his head frantically at Amanda, “I’m fine! I promise I’ll be ok! Amanda, you don’t have to do this.” He tugged at his bonds, desperately trying to reach Amanda. His voice broke as he slumped to the ground, “Please, please, I can’t lose anyone else.”

Tommy looked distraught, his hands tightly gripping Tubbo’s. How was he living through this again? 

Techno looked glum as he spoke, “You really don’t wanna fight us. We don’t need to fight.”

“You underestimate me and my people.” In the silence that followed, the sounds of multiple swords unsheathing echoed around the clearing. Slowly, the bodies of at least 15 people, covered in overpowered armor, made themselves visible. “We are not here to kill you or harm you. This is a warning. Dream will be returned home by tomorrow at noon we will take him.”

Another villager spoke up from behind the group, “Fleeing would be against your better interests as well. We know this land like the back of our hands, it is our home. You have walked into foreign territory with the boldness of gods, do not forget who you are or where you are.” 

In a blink of an eye, the soldiers disappeared. 

“I’m gonna be honest, that was cool as hell.”

“Techno!”

Quackity looked murderous, spinning around to Dream his voice came out an angry hiss, “You knew. That’s why you walked away so easily. You have been plotting against us.”

Dream was shaking, “N-no, I d-d-didn’t k-know. I wa-was r-ready t-t-to spend th-the rest of my l-life in p-prison.”

This only enraged Quackity more, “The fuck you mean you didn’t know? You’ve been living with them for a month!” 

“I swear, I had no idea.”

Tommy finally snapped out of whatever trance he was in, “Can we please leave him the fuck alone? This isn’t worth it. It never has been.” 

Sapnap looked at Tommy questioningly, “Tommy this is for you, you suffered the most. The rest of us have our grievances, but nothing as bad as what you went through.” 

“I didn’t fucking ask for this! I wanted to leave him alone. You’ve all been doing what you think I want without actually asking me what I want!”

“Tommy,” Punz’s soothing voice attempted to console the distraught boy, “We’re just trying to protect you. You’re still a kid.”

“Fuck all of you. I had to grow up too soon because of these stupid goddamn wars. I’m the least childish of anyone here.” Tommy began to storm off into the woods, stopping at the edge of the trees and turning back to look at his family, “The only goddamn person here who would ever listen to me was fucking Dream. Fucking Dream!” 

“We can’t let him go.”

“Why not Fundy? Why not?”

“He has to pay! We didn’t suffer through his manipulation for nothing!”

Punz sighed, “He’s paid more than any of the rest of us have. Sapnap and Tommy started the disc war, nobody’s punishing them. I supported Dream until the very end, nobody put me in jail. Eret betrayed L’manberg, nobody punished him. Tommy betrayed Techo, no one punished him. Techno and Wilbur blew L’manberg to pieces and they walked free. Tubbo has nukes and no one else is concerned about that. We all did fucked up things, stealing each other’s pets, killing them,” A pointed glare at Sapnap, “Even Tommy, he burned down homes, scammed and stole.”

“Dream did make the mature decision to remove himself from the situation,” Niki looked over at the man.

Dream’s soft voice came from the trees, having calmed down, “I ran out of fear, not nobility. I stayed away because I didn’t need any more nightmares.”

“At least you’re honest,” scoffed Quackity. 

“We can at least give him a chance to explain.”

Niki nodded in agreement, “That’s a good idea Eret.”

“I’ll ask him,” Tubbo muttered.

“You know I can hear you?”

“Shut up.”

Tubbo walked over to Dream and sat a few feet away from him. “What was the prison like?”

“Heaven in a box.” Came Dream’s sarcastic response. 

“Seriously. Do you even want to be free?”

“I’ll never have my freedom from you. There’ll always be some stipulation and someone will always be looking for another reason to put me away. I don’t mind carrying the blame of these wars if it brings the rest of you together.”

“Fine, another approach,” Sam came to sit by Tubbo, “What would you do out of prison.”

Dream smiled lazily, eyes still closed. “Exactly what I’ve been doing.”

“And that is?”

“Farming, working odd jobs, reading about history, and helping Amanda.”

“You expect us to believe that you’re satisfied with that?”

“Mmm, no, but it is the truth.”

Techno spoke, “I’d be satisfied with that.”

Phil laughed quietly while patting him on the back. 

“We’ve gotta take you back home. It’s what’s best for everyone.”

“Correction, you just took me from my home and you’re doing what’s best for you.” 

“Where are all these scars from?”

Dream flinched, “Prison and war.”

“But you didn’t fight anyone in the prison?”

Dream looked pityingly at Bad, “I fought myself.”

Bad gasped in horror, “You did that to yourself?”

Dream didn’t answer him, choosing to turn away and face the darkness.

“Dream?” George’s wobbly voice was surprisingly loud, “Did you- did you try to commit suicide?”

The only indication that Dream heard him was the sigh that escaped his lips.

“Go to bed, the soon you wake up, the sooner you can put me in prison.” 

________________________________________________________________

Amanda woke with the sun the next morning. Still no Dream. Walking to the town square she was grateful that the atmosphere was still light-hearted and free. She felt some guilt about dragging her town into a fight, but nobody seemed upset about it.

These people stood by each other and she was more relieved than ever that this was her home. Breakfast was served to all the soldiers by their local barkeep. He seemed overjoyed to hear stories from last night, many people exaggerating the tale. 

Heads nodded at her when she walked in, they showed their respect to her as a leader, making her confidence swell even more. It was the responsibility of the meeting caller to lead if the council agreed to support their cause. 

“We follow them in secret until noon. I had hoped they would come to their senses, but it appears they wanna do this the hard way. If we do come to physical conflict, aim to disarm.” 

Sounds of agreement and understanding echoed around the lively room. She smiled to herself.

“It also should be noted that Dream is an admin, he keeps it a secret and I don’t think they know about it. His survival is key.”

“He doesn’t act like an admin.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

Soon after breakfast the team took to the trees and observed the SMP members. The group appeared to be in a hurry to leave, perhaps they supposed that they could get a headstart on the village people. Foolish really, still underestimating their challengers. 

After a couple of hours of trailing the group, the signal to intervene was made.

Amanda landed gracefully in front of the SMP members as the rest of the soldiers fell in formation around her.

Gasps came from the group.

“It’s noon.”


	18. xviii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream comes home  
> The SMP members deal with the fallout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story isn't over yet, I promise. Lots of love to all my readers <3  
> There is a long monologue in the middle of this so I apologize for that.
> 
> !!TW!! discussions of sh, suicide, mild violence.

Amanda smiled to herself.

Giving them the benefit of the doubt she asked them, “Have you made your decision?” 

Weapons drew as the SMP went on guard. “We’re taking Dream back home.”

“If you were taking Dream home, you would be returning him to us.” She pointed to the bracelet on Dream’s wrist, “That right there signifies his belonging with us.”

Techno exhaled heavily before stepping up to Amanda, “I’m sure you worked hard to earn your armor and weapons, but we’ve trained for years and you’re outnumbered. This isn’t a battle where the odds are on your side.”

“You are under the impression that we are not warriors. Fighting is our blood.”

When those words were spoken, the Kosto people spun into action. Their blades effortlessly knocking down anyone in their way. Small battles broke out on the field, but even against the most experienced SMP members, it was clear who had the upper hand. 

Techno, struggling against two of the village people, spoke confusedly, “Who the hell are these people? Wha’? Where’d you come from?”

Moments after the initial strike, they had surrounded Dream in a close-knit circle. One of the younger women untied Dream’s hands and pulled him to his feet. 

“Hi, I’m Kalie. We’re gonna get you home, ok?”

He could only nod, the sounds of battle throwing him deep into his memories. 

A pause in the fighting as the SMP member’s scrambled backward, away from the fight. 

Pants echoed around the group, “Who are you?” Questioned Sam.

A rueful smile crossed Amanda’s face, “Simple villagers. Please go home. Dream isn’t causing you problems anymore, stop causing problems here.”

“Do you even know what he’s done?” Quackity’s voice cut through the forest, “He caused all the wars, he exiled a child and manipulated him, he bombed multiple countries for wanting independence, he played both sides like a violin, he stole our most precious and loved items and held them in a vault for control over us! He’s a monster!”

Amanda's shoulders sank, were they really going to do this now? “Do you know who Dream is to me?” 

Silence answered her. 

“No? I’ll clarify for you then, Dream is the person who fought his own anxieties about people to bring my kid home safe and sound. Dream is the person who helped my kid feel accepted and special. Dream is the person who teaches my kid how to farm and builds swings with him. Dream is the person who helps my kid remember when he can’t. He is the person who sits with me around my dinner table and talks about history for hours on end. He is the person who offered me a home so I could turn my old one into my own shop. Dream is the person who helps the villagers fix up their homes because he wants to. Dream,” Her voice broke, “is the person who comes to me in the middle of the night with tears running down his face, shaking, because he had a nightmare.” She cleared her voice, “I don’t care about Dream’s past, not that I’m excusing it, but I care about who he is now. I care about who he is around my child and who I know he is. I’m sorry you can’t accept that people change. I’m sorry your prejudice blinds you from moving forward and healing, and most of all I’m sorry that you can’t see that people are products of their environments.”

The villagers turned away and made their retreat in silence. 

Tommy, coincidentally, returned to the group as they left. “She’s right, you know. I tried, I really fucking did. I tried to tell you what I wanted, I tried to stop y’all from starting another war. Can’t you people ever let things go?” He turned to Tubbo, gathering their stuff, “I’m going home. I don’t want any part of this bullshit anymore.”

Techno looked to Phil before returning his gaze to the group, “I’m not one for speeches, so uh, bye. I’m leavin’ too. Didn’t wanna be a part of this anyways. Don’t bother me anymore.” The two nodded and began on the path home.

Quackity, Jack, and Fundy were tossing things around angrily, hateful words and vengeful promises thrown around in the air.

“Well,” Niki started, “I guess everyone being against Dream did unite us.”

Bad looked shattered, “Why can’t we just get along!? This was a bad idea.”

Sam looked off into the distance, “It’s time to let sleeping dogs lie, let’s go home.”

________________________________________________________________

Dream collapsed in the nearest chair when he got to Amanda’s house, “Thank you.” Came his quiet voice. 

“We would’ve done it for anyone.”

“I meant what you said. Thank you for the second chance.”

“You earned it Dream. Every minute of every day.” She brought a washcloth to the table, “Let’s get you cleaned up ok?”

Gently raising a wet washcloth to his face, Amanda slowly began wiping the dirt and blood away. She held Dream’s face carefully as she applied ointment, his eyes closing due to exhaustion. 

When she finished, she began to lead Dream up the stairs and into his bedroom. 

About halfway there he started to protest, “Ranboo! Where is he? Is he ok?”

She laughed, “He’s fine. He’ll be here in the morning, bright and early if I had to guess so get some sleep ok?”

A halfhearted nod came from Dream, already half asleep.

________________________________________________________________ 

Bad, Sapnap, George were still in shock at Dream’s revelations. 

How could they let their friend fall so low?

Unfinished questions floated around the three. 

“Do you think-”

“What if he…”

“Would we be ok?”

Sapnap broke into tears first. “What if he had succeeded? I w-wouldn’t be ok with him d-dead.”

The other two couldn’t offer him comfort, equally as perturbed. 

George sat next to him, face blank, “We wouldn’t be the same.”

“He’s p-practically dead to us n-now. Did you hear that!? He, he said that t-the SMP w-wasn’t his h-home anymore.” 

Bad paused, staring off into the distance, “Do you think we’ll ever get him back?”

Sapnap and George didn’t know the answer to his question.


	19. xix - looking foward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> closure?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for bearing with me, I didn't plan on this chapter being the end of the book, but I loved the open-endedness it has. honestly, this whole thing has been a bit of a rollercoaster. the support has been overwhelming and amazing, so thank you all for that <3 I would love to write more books! if anyone has any suggestions or requests lmk down below. I'm considering expanding this AU and making prequels and sequels to other characters' stories and backgrounds. Anyways, hopefully this ending brings you the closure need.

Wearily the remaining SMP members made the long trip home. Few words were spoken, each person carefully debating their own feelings. Were they free from the cycle of violence they had trapped themselves in? Who were they anymore? What was their purpose?

None of them had the answers. 

“I don’t know who I am anymore. I don’t know what I’m going to spend my days doing.”

Many quiet sounds of agreement could be heard.

Niki spoke with unusual fire in her voice, “Well, Quackity, if you have no purpose or daily life outside of inciting disorder, maybe it’s time for some self-reflection. We could all use some self-reflection! I mean, what the fuck was that!?” Her voice lowered, “Amanda was right, we are blind and angry and it is time to move on.”

No one spoke, not a soul dared to disagree with her.

“Go home, enjoy the sunset, sleep in, hang your armor up. I refuse to be a part of a community built on hatred and fear. We will learn kindness and then we will rebuild.” 

“Niki?”

“What Tommy?”

“Do you really think we can change?”

“Dream did, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“Then he is either a stronger person than us or we haven’t tried hard enough. I would rather the latter be true.”

________________________________________________________________

Dream woke slowly, his body still exhausted from the week's events. All too vivid memories had flashed through his mind as he slept, and the only comfort he could find was in his future. 

He laid in bed for what felt like an eternity, unable to ignore his past anymore. What had he become? The sudden shock of seeing his old friends had forced him to confront everything he had locked away in hopes of moving on. He knew he had responsibilities and things to do. He knew he had promised to go see Ranboo. He knew he had to go thank the villagers for all they did for him. He knew he had to get out of bed, but Dream couldn’t make himself. He felt weighed down by unknown forces. 

Amanda had come to check on him a few times, only finding a near catatonic-like man staring at the ceiling. After the first few days of this, she brought him an empty journal. 

“Start fresh.” She had muttered, placing it on the bedside table. 

It had taken him a while to pick apart her words and it had taken him even longer to register what she wanted him to do. 

Sitting up, Dream felt like he was moving underwater. He grabbed a pen and stared at the blank pages, hand closely hovering over the paper, unsure what to write. Slumping into the desk chair, he was lost in the unyielding storm of his own mind. 

It was Ranboo who found him one night, desperate to see his best friend again. The kid climbed into his lap without hesitation, tightly hugging Dream, his small head resting on Dream’s chest, eyes closed. 

“I missed you.”

Dream could only nod furiously in agreement.

“What are you writing?”

He looked down at Ranboo, “I’m not sure, I think I’m supposed to write my own story.”

The kid looked confused, “That’s easy!”

“Is it?”

“Yes,” Ranboo peered at him questioningly, “You just write what you know.” 

“Huh. Never thought of it like that.”

Ranboo sighed and curled into Dream, his eyes closing as he fought sleep.

Dream started writing quietly.

_ I am Dream. _

_ I am an admin. _

_ I have a farm that I share with my family. _

_ I have a pet cat named Patches. _

_ I am a citizen of Kosto Traveling Post. _

_ I was born in faraway lands, the Greater SMP. _

_ I fought in many wars as a youth. _

_ I went to prison for my crimes during the wars. _

_ I escaped prison. _

He paused, where was the depth? Could he write who he truly was onto paper? Could something so simple really hold something so complicated? Yes.

_ I did bad things. I hurt my friends. _

_ But I am not a bad person. _

_ I do good things. I help other people. _

_ I am not a good person either. _

_ I am somewhere in the middle, neither good nor bad.  _

_ I do my best to be better every day. _

_ I don’t let who I was define me.  _

_ I am not weak because I ran away, I am not weak because I am afraid. _

_ I am strong because I let others help me when I cannot help myself. _

_ I am strong because I can help myself too. _

_ I  _

He stopped. This was all he knew right now. Silently promising himself to write more every time he learned something about himself, Dream gently closed the book. 

He felt like he could breathe again.

He knew what he wanted to do. He was going to grow his farm and teach Ranboo everything he knew. He was going to write history books, so someone knew his truth. He was gonna spend hours in the library learning about his heritage. Dream would experiment with potions, he would discover quicker, more efficient ways to do anything. And he was gonna write it all because he knew someone would benefit from his books one day. Dream would be honest with himself and the world.

Cradling Ranboo in his arms, he slowly walked the kid back to his own bedroom and tucked him into bed. 

Dream then went in search of Amanda, he owed her a hug and as many words of gratitude as he could think of. 

He found her hunched over the kitchen table, preparing tomorrow’s lunch. 

“Hi.” His voice came out scratchy, but firm.

She turned around towards him, “You’re up.” It was less of a statement as more of a question.

“Yes.” Closing the distance between them, he wrapped her in a tight hug. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I’ll never stop thanking you.”

A smile graced her lips, “It’s what moms are for,” As he took a step back she examined him, “You ready to face the world yet?”

“No.” He chuckled, “But I want to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading and tell me your ideas for future books in the comments! 
> 
> -update 2/22/2021, I'm writing a standalone (not related to this AU) of Dream's potential prison trial, if anyone is interested in reading that it should be posted later tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger! Hoped you enjoyed it <3


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